|
/ Introduction / Future
The FUTURE: Ecological Dry Nixtamalization Processes
New, ecological technologies for the nixtamalization process have been developed at CINVESTAV. With these new processes, value is added to the corn at the very moment in which the tortillas are produced. It is no longer necessary to first produce masa or flour: the tortillas are produced directly from corn. This new technology makes it possible to increase tortilla yield by 15%, cut water consumption by 90%, eliminate the problem of waste water pollution, and reduce energy consumption by 50%. This not only makes possible significant savings by using 90% less water, it also eliminates the polluting waste from the nejayote used in the traditional process. There is an astonishing decrease in production time: while the customary nixtamalization process takes from 4 to 18 hours, high quality masa or tortillas can be produced with this new technology in 15 to 60 minutes.
