Masa

Masa is corn that has been cooked in lime water, hulled and ground — nixtamalisation, a process Mesoamerican cooks worked out three thousand years ago and one of the great inventions of food. It turns a grain that causes pellagra when eaten alone into one that supplies usable niacin and calcium, and it breaks down most of the antinutrients that make whole grains hard on the gut.

It is why corn tortillas are the bread the 50 Man Foods keep and wheat bread is not. The heart steak tacos are wrapped in them.

  • With a meal
  • 1 recipe
  • Starch
  • Updated Sep 2026

What it supplies

Nutrient · per 100 g masa harina, dry (makes about eight small tortillas) Amount % DV Relative amount
Carbohydrate 74 g 27%
Protein 9 g 18%
Calcium ~140 mg 11%
Fibre 6 g 21%
Fat 4 g 5%
Niacin freed by lime 0%

Source: USDA FoodData Central.Percent Daily Values are based on adult reference intakes. The bars stop at 100%; the numbers do not.

Why it works

Lime cooking hydrolyses the hemicellulose that binds niacin in corn, so the vitamin becomes available; it also reduces phytate and mycotoxins and adds calcium. That is the difference between corn as a deficiency disease and corn as the base of a civilisation.

A masa tortilla is a thin, fat-free wrapper for meat, cheese and fat, which is exactly the role bread should have and rarely does.

How much, how often

  • 2–4 tortillas

    With a meal

    A thin, fat-free wrapper for meat, cheese and fat — the role bread should play.

  • Corn and lime only

    Read the label

    Cornmeal and polenta are not substitutes; they were never nixtamalised.

How to buy and prepare it

Masa harina — dried nixtamalised corn flour — from a Mexican brand; it should list corn and lime (calcium hydroxide) only. Fresh masa from a tortilleria is better if you have one. Cornmeal, polenta and corn flour are not nixtamalised and are not substitutes. Heirloom blue and white corn masas taste more of corn.

Buy small bags; the fat in the germ goes rancid over months.

Two cups masa harina, a teaspoon of salt and about a cup and a half of warm water, mixed to a soft dough that does not crack when pressed. Rest ten minutes. Press golf-ball portions between two sheets of plastic in a tortilla press or under a heavy pan, and cook on a dry hot skillet 45 seconds a side until they puff. Keep them warm in a cloth.

Dry masa harina keeps a year sealed, longer refrigerated. Fresh masa dough keeps three days refrigerated. Cooked tortillas keep two days and reheat on a dry pan.

Recipes that use it

In these guides

Questions

Is masa gluten-free?
Yes. Corn has no gluten, and pure masa harina is corn and lime only. Check the label for wheat if it matters medically; some brands share lines.
Why not just cornmeal?
Cornmeal has not been nixtamalised. Its niacin is bound, its calcium is low, its phytate is intact, and it will not form a dough. Masa is a different food made from the same grain.
How many tortillas a day?
Two to four, as the wrapper for a meal. Masa is a grain product and carries some polyunsaturated fat, so it is a portion, not a staple like potatoes or rice.