What are you making? Some recipes call for corn flour and actually mean corn starch.

I use corn meal to make polenta. Anything that is flour "texture" would be too fine.

Definition from Cooks Thesaurus:

masa harina Notes: This is flour made from hominy, and it's used to make corn tortillas and tamales. Look for it in large supermarkets or Hispanic markets. It's made with either yellow or white corn; harinilla is made with blue corn. Substitutes: masa (This is masa harina that's been reconstituted with water.) OR harinilla (blue, not yellow)

I want to make tortilla shells but not flour ones. I know it's not complicated, this flour thing, but I am making it complicated in my head - if that makes sense? Can you use this corn flour? I did see masa harina in the stores but it is a rather large bag and don't need that much. I have corn meal too - you can use that for polenta also?

I hesitate to differ with Ann because she is truly expert and I am not certain about this. However, if the bag has a recipe for polenta, I definitely would give it a try. You don't have much to lose and polenta is very good in my opinion. Serve it as a starch side dish in place of rice, pasta and the like. It's good with just butter. After it cools and solidifies, it can be sliced, fried and served with marinara sauce.

Corn flour is superior to corn meal as a coating for fried seafood. Mix it half and half with all purpose flour and season with salt and pepper. Dip fish in milk, dredge in the coating, dip in milk again, then dredge again.

As Ann says, tortillas are made from masa harina, which is not the same as corn flour. Jonny cakes, however are made from corn flour.

Jim

If you want to make corn tortillas then you need the masa harina.

Homemade corn tortillas are the best.

I've only ever used finely ground corn meal for polenta. Never anything with a "flour" texture.

Here is a link that might be useful: Homemade Corn Tortillas Pictorial

I am no expert but this is what I found from Wisegeek.com

"In Spanish, masa harina literally means "dough flour," but many people use it specifically to refer to a type of coarse meal made from corn which has been subjected to the **nixtamalization process. This specially treated corn is used to make tortillas, fillings for tamales, and a variety of other traditional Mexican foods."

Wisegeek further explained the difference among cornflour, cornmeal, and masa harina:

"t is important to avoid confusing masa harina with cornmeal or corn flour. Cornmeal is made by grinding corn, either dry or wet, but the corn is not treated with lime first. As a result, cornmeals and flours behave different than masa harina in baking and cooking. They are also not as nutritionally valuable as nixtamalized masa. "

**Nixtamalization: "The nixtamalization process was developed in Mesoamerica, and it is thousands of years old. In addition to softening the corn for grinding into masa, it also changes the structure of the corn, freeing the nutritionally valuable niacin and adding calcium from the lime used as an alkali. This process made corn an excellent nutritional addition to the diet of early Americans, and it explains why corn became such an important crop across the Americas."

I have not tried using masa harina to make tortilla so can't comment on how much better the results will be. If you do find out please share your experience.

Al

I wonder if it's an imported product from a smaller company and therefore a label translation issue?

I've always used masa harina for tortillas, so without seeing the flour, I don't want to guess. As for the polenta question, though, I like it made with asiago cheese added and salsa or sautreed mushrooms on top.

You would be better off going to a Latin market and buying fresh masa, which will not require any liquid to be added to it, and you can buy smaller amounts. If you have any left over, you can freeze it.

I'm not sure what you mean by "tortilla shells". Do you mean plain tortillas or do you mean something more like taco shells? If you are making taco shells, you can use tortillas from the market.

Lars

"Homemade corn tortillas are the best."

Absolutamente!!!!

I wanted to post the link to Ann's good pictorial on making tortillas but had trouble finding it. Fortunately, she has reposted it above. Have a look.

Jim

Thanks guys. Just picked up my masa harina (for my tortillas) at the supermarket. How would polenta work with ratatouille on top of it with sliced venison? I have to make a "fancy" meal soon and wondering if this would cut it?

Ratatouille would work well with polenta I would think. However, the polenta would not need to be fancy to be part of a fancy plate, if you know what I mean. One of the best meals I had (and there were many) in Florence, Italy, was cuttlefish in its own ink. That's a fancy dish IMO. It was accompanied by ordinary polenta, which worked very well.

BTW, be patient if you are making tortillas for the first time. There is a bit of a knack to it, but it is well worth learning.

Jim

Okay, Jim, what do you mean by knack. Getting the right consistency or shaping them? I just got my second tortilla maker yesterday. My first one was aluminum and didn't work. This one is iron, heavy, designed differently. Tomorrow might be my test day. Can I freeze my tortillas? Should I cook them first or freeze them raw? Thanks again!

What I mean is:

Getting the right consistency, which is soft enough that the edges of the tortilla stay smooth, not split in little cracks around the edges when you press them, yet are dry enough to hold together well.

Shaping the tortillas is well explained elsewhere, notably in Ann T's pictorial. The dough is tender and must be handled with care when pressed thin, supported by plastic bags and palms of hands.

Getting time and temperature right. You need two different griddle temperatures, one medium and one a little hotter. If using a long griddle spanning two burners, that would be two burner settings. When you find the two griddle temperatures you have it made. Make note of the settings for your next tortilla baking.

Bake on the medium temperature until the tortilla begins to show a little dryness at the edges, about 30 sec. Flip over to the high temperature griddle for about 30 or 50 sec. until there is a baked aroma and the bottom of the tortilla begins to get little browned spots. Flip over, still on the hot griddle, until the tortilla is completely baked.

During that last turn you hope the steam in the tortilla will puff it into a ball. You can help by "tickling" the tortilla. Press it here and there with the tip of your finger to make it contact the hot griddle.

Stack the finished tortillas in a warm container (tea towel) until all are baked.

Adjust your griddle temperatures so the baking process is done in about 2 min. Don't worry if perfect results aren't achieved at first, even if they don't puff. The tortillas will be pretty good anyhow. Don't be intimidated by the detail I've given. I just want to speed your learning curve by providing some usable cues to the process.

Finished tortillas will freeze just fine. Inbaked ones will be impossible, as you will see. The dough is TENDER.

I hope you have a good time doing this. Let us know how it goes. Maybe others will want to do it.

A favorite memory of mine is driving through Mexico at evening meal time. The main road inevitably went straight through each small village, with a speed bump as we entered and a bump as we left. At that hour of the day, each village would smell of baking tortillas.

Jim

Thank you. This is very useful. It's almost like you know me and knew I would probably get set off doing this. My fuse is way too short when I get frustrated - very bad trait of mine. I think I will try it when the kids take a nap today. Better no one is around me. ha ha

I think you will have fun with this. And you are right that it is not the sort of thing you want to do with kids running around the kitchen. :-)

I see a couple of points in my explanation which aren't quite right. But lets leave well enough alone for now and see how you make out with your first try at tortilla baking.

Jim

Cookie, you had also asked for recipes that use polenta. I can recommend this one. It is super easy and can be on the table in about 30 minutes! In my picture I used veal scallops because I had them on hand. Either would be good, as would chicken.

Pork Saltimbocca with Polenta
From The Best of Cooking Light

6 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops, trimmed
6 very thin slices prosciutto (about 2 ounces)
6 large fresh sage leaves
1/3 cup (about 1 ½ ounces) shredded fontina cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon thinly-sliced fresh sage

Polenta:
2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup instant polenta
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. To prepare pork, place each chop between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Arrange 1 prosciutto slice over each chop top with 1 sage leaf and about 1 tablespoon cheese. Fold chops in half to sandwich filling, and secure with wooden toothpicks. Sprinkle both sides of chops with pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Place flour in shallow dish; dredge stuffed chops in flour.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chops; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; cover and keep warm.
3. Add wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 2 minutes). Add 1 cup broth; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes). Stir in 1 tablespoon sage. Reduce heat to medium. Return chops to pan; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, turning once.
4. To prepare polenta, bring milk and 1 can broth to a boil. Gradually stir in polenta and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 2 minutes. Serve polenta immediately with chops and sauce.

Linda

I think we will be seeing more restaurants serving polenta this way. Right now it is either the ethnic home cook or the knowledgeable foodie who is familiar with polenta. It is so good and so versatile that it should be more widely enjoyed.

Jim

I think we will be seeing more restaurants serving polenta this way. Right now it is either the ethnic home cook or the knowledgeable foodie who is familiar with polenta. It is so good and so versatile that it should be more widely enjoyed.

Jim

I often serve polenta as a side. It goes great with Osso Bucco , oxtails or short ribs.

It is very easy to make. Another one of those dishes I make that is just winged. I don't measure any of the ingredients. I start out with a pot of chicken broth seasoned with fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Sometimes I will also add fresh minced sage to the broth. (depending on what I am serving it with). Once it is simmering I slowly add the cornmeal, stirring so that it doesn't form lumps. Turn the heat down low and continue stirring until the cornmeal thickens. I don't use instant polenta so it takes longer to cook. When it is the right consistency I add butter and parmesan cheese and it is ready to serve.

That is a picture perfect plate (a PPP as it were)! Textures, tastes, shapes, colors, textures all complementing one another. Is it swiss chard behind the polenta?

Jim