Sean Sherman, The Sioux Chef, Makes Nixtamal with Wood Ash

Sean Sherman Sioux Chef in Kitchen for Wood Ash Nixtamal Tutorial

July 27, 2022

"The flavor of the finished nixtamal and masa has a distinctly smoky, campfire essence, which I find especially complements roasted vegetables and grilled fish, though any pairing works, really. There’s also something rustic, elemental, and primordial to me about this method that I find quite romantic."

How is nixtamalizing corn with wood ash different than nixtamalizing with cal?
"Clocking in at a pH of about 11.3, wood ash is more than ten times less caustic than cal, which is approximately 12.4 pH. The pH scale is logarithmic, which means that a difference of one integer value (e.g., 12 to 11) changes the concentration by a factor of 10. This means that it takes a bit more ash to get the job done than cal.

For this reason, we’ll use a ratio of 1 part ash to 1 part corn, by volume. For example, one cup of corn will require one cup of ash to get the job done. (By weight, this ratio works out to be about 1 part ash to 2 parts corn, depending on the size and density of the corn kernels used.)

Where to find ash for nixtamalizing corn:
"Because ash has common applications beyond nixtamalization, including soap making and as a soil amendment, it is easy to find sifted wood ash online, if you don’t happen to have any on hand. Alternatively, you can hit up your nearest wood-fired restaurant for some, as it’s usually thrown out at the end of an evening’s service. (Special thanks to chef Juan and Max at Gjelina restaurant for Masienda’s local ash hookup.)"

For more on masa and nixtamalization, shop the MASA book.

Wood Ash Nixtamal by Sean Sherman

Rated 4.2 stars by 13 users

Learn how to nixtamalize corn using lye made from wood ash: an ancient technique employed by Native people north of Mexico.

Ingredients

1 part ash from hard wood such as birch or oak
3 parts water
Dried corn, such as Blue Cónico

Directions

Using a fine mesh strainer, sift any large chunks out of your ash.
Bring water to a boil in a large pot, and stir in ash, using a whisk to disperse. The ratio should be 3 parts water to 1 part ash.
Lower flame and let mixture simmer for one hour.
Turn off heat source and let mixture sit in pot for at least three hours.
Skim water from the top of mixture to strain through a cheesecloth-lined chinois or fine mesh strainer into a clean vessel, leaving as much ash as possible in the original pot. Leave mixture to strain overnight, and in the morning, strain a second time to remove as much sediment as possible.
Bring a pot of water to a simmer and add dried corn (there should be about a "knuckle's worth" of water covering the corn).
Wearing gloves (because the mixture can be caustic to skin), test the pH of the strained lye (the new mixture you've created) using a pH reader. The mixture is ready when the pH reaches 13.
Strain the lye once more through a chinois into the pot filled with corn. Stir. As it simmers, the corn should become yellow in color.
You can opt to simmer it for awhile, turn off the flame and let it soak for 8 hours or overnight, until the hulls easily peel off the kernels. Or you may want to bring it to a hard boil for a few hours to let it cook further, to use as nixtamalized corn in soup or other recipes.
Rinse the corn under water, gently peeling off the hulls with your fingers as you go.
At this point, you can run the corn through the grinder to make masa, unless you plan to leave it whole for soup. Alternatively, you can dry it out and grind it later, for homemade masa harina.

All Comments

Hi Bill! Great question, and we’re glad to hear you gave it a try! A good starting point is to use equal parts corn and ash by volume, then add three parts water for every one part ash. From there, you can adjust based on your results, but this ratio should give you a solid foundation for proper nixtamalization. Let us know how round two goes!

I used this process successfully—although not without some raised eyebrows from my wife. I’m looking to repeat this process but it looks like there is one crucial measurement missing—the amount of corn. I’m sure there’s a limit to how much corn that the product of a 3:1 ratio of water/wood ash can nixtamalize.

Hi Trish! Yes, the ratio of lye to dried corn is 1 part ash to 1 part corn by volume. Let us know if you have any additional questions!

Hi, is there a ratio of lye to dried corn?

Hi Debbie! The 3:1 ratio of water to ash is by volume, not weight. Hope that helps! Let us know if you have any other questions.

Sean Sherman, The Sioux Chef, Makes Nixtamal with Wood Ash

Sean Sherman, The Sioux Chef, Makes Nixtamal with Wood Ash

Wood Ash Nixtamal by Sean Sherman

Ingredients

Directions

All Comments

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