A National Bestseller and Best Cookbook of 2022 from Los Angeles Times, Food and Wine, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, and Saveur.
MASA is your guide to making authentic, high-quality masa from scratch and cooking with it in your home kitchen.
It's time to learn the way to a perfect taco, and it all starts with the masa. Like sourdough before it, craft masa is on the brink of a global culinary movement. Jorge Gaviria's company, Masienda, has become a proxy message board at the center of the swelling masa conversation and with this cookbook he completes the story of how to create this special building block from scratch.
Brimming with history, replicable techniques, and reflections from masa authorities, including third-generation tortillerxs and acclaimed chefs, MASA reveals the beauty and longstanding traditions behind this elemental staple. In addition to teaching how to make masa from dried corn kernel to fully realized dish, this book also shows cooks how to use masa in 50 base recipes for tortillas, pozole, tamales, and more, empowering chefs of any level to think creatively and adapt recipes confidently for their own use.
In addition, ten well-known chefs offer inventive recipes-such as tamal gnocchi, masa waffles, and shrimp and masa grits-to inspire new ways of relating to this timeless, dynamic food.
TORTILLAS ARE EVERYWHERE: For years now, tortillas, the most common masa application, have outpaced the consumption of hamburger buns in the United States, and their companion condiment, salsa, has outsold ketchup as the nation's leading condiment.
ENDLESS DINNER INSPIRATION: This book features a wide range of recipes from the traditional basics—Tortillas, Pupusas, and Arepas—to the inventive, like Blue Masa Sourdough Bread, Tamal Gnocchi, and Shrimp and Masa Grits.
THE MASTER ON MASA: Jorge Gaviria is the founder of Masienda, a resource and supplier of high-quality masa and masa products. Jorge Gaviria wrote MASA after successfully working through tens of thousands of inquiries from home cooks on everything from the best equipment to ideal cooking temperatures to how to prevent a tortilla from falling apart during reheating.
ISBN-13: 9781797209920
Media Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Publication Date: 09-13-2022
Pages: 240
Product Dimensions: 7.30(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Jorge Gaviria is the founder of Masienda, a resource and supplier of high-quality masa and masa products. Jorge trained at top restaurants, including Maialino and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, before founding his company in 2014. He has been recognized by top international press outlets for his work and was awarded Forbes "30 Under 30" for food and wine in 2017. He lives in Los Angeles.
Table of Contents
Introduction 13
Masa Basics 26
What Is Masa? 28
Key Ingredients 29
Tools 40
Masa History: A Mostly Modern Account 50
Masa Genesis: A Prehistory 52
Modern Masa in Three Waves 54
First Wave: Masa Flour versus the Traditional Method 55
Second Wave: Masa Diaspora and the Experience of Authenticity 61
Third Wave: From Milpa to Mesa, Modern Mexican Masa as a Movement 66
Masa Time Line 70
From Kernel to Masa: The Process 72
Precooking (It's Really a Step, so Stay with Me) 74
Cooking with Cal 77
Nixtamalization 84
Nixtamal Rinsing 91
Nixtamal Grinding 92
Masa Mixing 98
Masa Recipes 104
Contextualizing Masa 108
Table Tortilla Masa 114
Preparing the Table Tortilla 119
The Table Tortilla Puff 126
Frying Tortilla Masa 132
Preparing the Frying Tortilla 135
50/50 Tortillas 139
Masa for Tamales 142
Pozole (a.k.a. Masa in Development) 145
Masa Harina 147
Traditional Applications (Masa Shapes) 150
Arepa 155
Atole 157
Bollo 159
Cazuelita 161
Chalupa 163
Chochoyote 165
Empanada 167
Flauta 169
Gordita 171
Hard-Shell Taco 173
Huarache 177
Infladita 179
Memela 181
Molote 183
Panucho 185
Puffy Taco 187
Pupusa 189
Quesadilla (Comal) 191
Quesadilla (Fried) 193
Salbut 195
Soft-Shell Taco 197
Sope 199
Tamal 201
Tetela 203
Tlacoyo 205
Tlayuda 209
Tostada 213
Totopo 215
Topping and Stuffing Basics 219
Modern Masa Explorations 220
Resources 254
Appendix 256
Bibliography 258
Glossary 259
Index 264
Acknowledgments 270
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