Tamales texture properties as a function of corn endosperm type

Abstract

Tamales are a kind of steam cooked small cakes usually made with nixtamalized cornmeal, pork lard, salt and wrapped in corn cob bracts. Nowadays, tamales could be considered as an essential dish for cuisines of almost all Latin America and even the Southern United States. Tamales' flavour is simple and quite neutral as they can be filled with different sauces and fillings give them their typical organoleptic richness. Additionally, the firm, spongy, slightly resilient texture is typical and distinctive of this food. Moreover, texture is important because it is a quality which allows the dough to adequately hold the fillings. In this study, changes in the texture properties of tamales as a function of corn endosperm (hard, intermediate and soft endosperm) were evaluated. Tamales with the highest content of Flint (hard) cornmeal had the highest adhesiveness and the lowest gumminess. Conversely, tamales richer in Floury (soft) cornmeal had the highest gumminess and the lowest adhesiveness. Binary blends produce values close to the average, just as the Dent (intermediate) cornmeal yields intermediate effects. There was no synergistic or antagonistic effect caused by the mixture of the races cornmeal. Variations in the tamales texture properties are influenced by the kernel hardness, the cornmeal particle size dispersion and its amylose content.