Kinetics of water diffusion in corn grain during the alkaline cooking at different temperatures and calcium hydroxide concentration

Effect of Nixtamalization Processing Temperature on Maize Hydration and the Textural Properties of Masa and Tortillas

“…However, it has also been reported that the grains must exhibit a moisture level between 45‐50 g/100g after the steeping time to obtain masa with high‐quality characteristics (Fernández‐Muñoz et al . ). Moreover, during the steeping time, the starch loses its crystalline structure due to the cleavage of the intermolecular hydrogen bonds present in its amorphous zones; this cleavage is mainly caused by the progressive and irreversible absorption of water, which results in partial gelatinization of the starch granule.…”

“…; Fernández‐Muñoz et al . ). It is important to indicate that even though the nixtamalization process time was 24 h in all assays of the present work, it was observed that the nixtamalized maize have the required moisture content to obtain masa with good‐quality characteristics after only 6 h. Additionally the continuous lines in Fig.…”

“…; Fernández‐Muñoz et al . ). These works have shown that the exposure of maize to an alkaline solution causes degradation and softening of the cell wall components of the pericarp.…”

Modeling calcium and water intake in threshed corn grain during thermo-alkaline treatment

“…The diffusive process of calcium ions during thermo-alkaline treatment of whole maize kernels has been studied in a qualitative manner (Zazueta et al, 2002;Laria et al, 2007;Valderrama-Bravo et al, 2010;Gutiérrez-Cortez et al, 2010;Fernández-Muñoz et al, 2011), yet quantitative studies on the kinetics of simultaneous calcium diffusion-gelatinization of starch are lacking. Up to now, there is no information within the literature on the calcium absorption characteristics of threshed corn, above the gelatinization temperature, based on a theoretical approach.…”

Determination of Calcium Mobility in Alkaline‐Cooked Grounded Corn in Presence of a Magnetic Field

“…The complex chemical reactions that takes place under alkaline conditions produces several modifications in the nixtamalized dough: (a) improves the rheological properties for the preparation of corn tortilla, providing it with appropriated properties like: high resistance to bending, rolling and stretching, high hydrolytic resistance, good process ability, etc. (Wang and Flores ; Kayacier and Singh ; Vittadini and others ; Córtez‐Gómez and others ; Arámbula‐Villa and others ; Clubbs and others ; Fernández‐Muñoz and others ); (b) link chemically the Ca ions with organic molecules to produce the bio‐calcium improving the calcium assimilation; (c) improves the assimilation of organic compounds. These chemical reaction depends on several factors: water, [Ca], pH, temperature, cooking time, etc.…”