Masa Harina Substitutes

Masa Harina Substitutes

Masa harina is an unsung food hero that is responsible for the taste we love and associate with tortillas, tamales and gorditas. That unique flavour is hard to replicate but once in a while, you may need something you can use in place of the almost incomparable masa harina. There are a few decent substitutes for masa harina and which you want to go for will depend on whether you are looking for a texture replacement or a taste substitute. While it’s very popular in Latin America and communities with a heavy Latin American influence it is not easy to find in the rest of the world.

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What Is Masa Harina?

Masa harina is a maize meal that has a different process of preparation that also gives it its unique taste. Masa harina is the dried and powdered form of the maize or cornmeal that goes through a process called nixtamalisation. Dry maize or corn is cooked with an alkali agent, either lime or wood ash, and left to soak for hours after it cooks through. It is then thoroughly rinsed the product is then called hominy. The hominy is then crushed into a dough that is fairly dry and we now have masa. Masa harina or masa de harina is the dried version of this dough. Masa harina means dough flour in Spanish. After going through the process involved in making masa harina it seems a daunting task. However, 10  contenders may have something to say about that.

 

Corn Meal

Cornmeal is a good masa harina substitute because of its wide availability. Cornmeal is however ground from dry corn and will likely not be as fine as masa harina and may require further processing to get it to a state where it’s close to it. You can blend it once mixed with a liquid to bring it closer to masa harina’s fineness. On a taste level, cornmeal is not close to masa harina because of the flavour masa harina inherits from nixtamalisation.

 

Grits

Grits is a good substitute for masa harina. Grits is a cornmeal porridge flour that is fairly widely available. Depending on where you are you may be able to find hominy grits which have also gone through the nixtamalisation process and therefore match the flavour of masa harina outright. Outside of hominy grits, you will generally find corn grits on the market which do not match masa harina as well as maize grits.

 

Wheat Flour

Wheat flour doesn’t go through a process anything close to what masa harina does so it’s safe to say that from a taste perspective it will not match masa harina. The best thing to do if possible is to make a small batch of the recipe first to see if wheat flour will provide an appropriate flavour. Texture-wise wheat flour is very fine and a good match for masa harina. It’s widely available so if you’re in desperate need of a substitute for masa harina you won’t go to great things to locate this one. Just note that wheat flour does contain gluten so if you’re looking for a gluten free masa harina substitute wheat flour will not cut it.

 

Corn Tortillas

What better to substitute masa harina than something made from masa harina. Tortillas are made from masa harina so they do make a great substitute if that’s all you have and can find. The best way to use them is to put them in a blender and grind them up until you get a fine powder from them. A word of caution though, avoid using any flavoured tortillas. They tend to be heavily flavoured and this can easily affect the taste of your food. If what you’re after is a thickening agent this will work well.

 

Corn Taco Shells

Tacos just like tortillas are usually made from masa harina so they make a good substitute for masa harina. It’s best to make sure that the taco shells are made from masa harina by checking the ingredients. You may also find some taco shells are made from masa preparada which is also acceptable though varieties which have lard in them may not be the wisest choice depending on the recipe. The principle is the same as tortillas, grind them in a blender or food processor.

 

Corn Starch

Corn starch is a great masa harina substitute being made from corn as masa harina is. So corn starch will provide a decent masa harina substitute from a flavour perspective. Corn starch is however much finer than masa harina and it’s best to use it in a recipe where the masa harina is used a thickening agent such as soups. Corn starch is also very easy to find so that works in its favour as a masa harina substitute.

 

Fresh Masa

Fresh masa is the step of masa harina preparation between hominy and drying to become masa harina. This, of course, makes fresh masa a good substitute for masa harina. If you’re making tamales you might find that fresh masa is not only a substitute but also an improvement on masa harina. For other recipes, fresh masa also makes an adequate substitute.

 

Masa Preparada

Masa preparada is another masa harina substitute that offers a few benefits of masa harina. Many regard it as being the better of the two in flavour and utility. Masa preparada does, however, cost more and is also harder to find than masa harina so it does have some drawbacks.

 

Arrowroot Powder

Arrowroot powder is made from a plant called arrowroot which looks somewhat like a sweet potato. The powder is starchy and makes a good substitute for masa harina. Arrowroot powder is a great texture substitute for masa harina. Arrowroot powder has no discernible taste and therefore doesn’t make a good masa harina substitute from a taste perspective. You may find other ways to substitute the flavour since arrowroot powder has none so that is a bonus.

 

Polenta

Polenta is a food of Italian origin that is similar to maizemeal, cornmeal or grits. The most common versions of Polenta are made from corn but you can find experimental varieties that include millet, farrow and chestnuts. Polenta is to its credit just as easy to use as masa harina. You can find it in coarse or fine variety. It is very widely available.

 

There are many perfect substitutes for masa harina from a texture perspective. The unique flavour of masa harina that it gets from the nixtamalisation process is much harder to replicate.

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