Corn Masa and Tortillas from Extruded Instant Corn Flour Containing Hydrocolloids and Lime

Abstract

ABSTRACTExtruded instant corn flour (EICF) samples with hydrocolloids (gums), such as gum arabic, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), guar and xanthan and with different concentrations of lime (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3% w/w) were prepared by extrusion. The gums were added before or after thermal processing. The dehydration process followed through the weight loss (WL) in masa, the physicochemical (water absorption capacity (WAC) and WL during cooking) characteristics of masa were optimized to give longer dehydration times and tortillas with good textural (rollability, tensile strength and cutting force) properties. The lowest effective moisture diffusion coefficient (D*) was found in masa samples containing 0.2% (w/w) of lime and 0.5% (w/w) of the xanthan gum added before extrusion. These masas produce tortillas with optimum textural characteristics and highest yields.