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Dry Matter Loss During Nixtamalization of a White Corn Hybrid: Impact of Processing Parameters

¹Research associates, research technicians, and associate professor, respectively, Cereal/Oilseed Science and Technology Laboratory, Dept. of Food Science and Technology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583-0919. ²Corresponding author. Phone: 402-472-2814. Fax: 402-472-1693.

Nixtamalization is the primary step in the production of products such as corn chips, tortilla chips, tacos, and corn tortillas. The process involves cooking and steeping of corn in lime and excess water to produce nixtamal. Commercial nixtamalization results in 5–14% corn solids loss in the liquid generated during cooking-steeping and washing. Loss of corn solids not only causes economic loss to corn processors but also creates costly waste and wastewater disposal problems. Empirical results show that, besides corn kernel characteristics, processing parameters are critical variables influencing corn solids loss and effluent pH during nixtamalization. This work was designed to systematically study the impact of processing parameters on corn dry matter loss and effluent pH generated during nixtamalization by using response surface methodology. Corn cooking temperature and lime concentration were more critical factors influencing corn solid loss than were cooking and steeping time. In the ranges studied, total dry matter loss increased only up to ≈8 hr of steeping and then leveled off. By optimizing the nixtamalization protocol, effluent dry matter loss can be minimized.