Even if you don't know what masa harina is, you've almost certainly eaten it. This is the flour used to make corn tortillas and the filling for tamales. Pupusas, arepas, and sopes are all made with it, along with plenty of other favorite dishes. Masa harina is as central to the Mexican and South American pantry as chiles and dried beans. Do you ever cook with it?
Masa harina is more than plain corn flour. Before being ground, the corn kernels for masa harina are soaked with limewater. Soaking in this alkaline solution actually changes the physical structure of the corn, making it softer and more pliable. This is why masa harina is able to form a pliable dough while cornmeal and corn flour will not. The process also gives masa harina and the foods in which it's used a distinctive taste and aroma.
As mentioned above, masa harina can be used to make a whole range of Mexican and South American foods from simple corn tortillas for tacos to stuffed arepas. It's even used to make a spiced porridge-like drink called atole.
You can find bags of masa harina at almost any grocery store or online. Stored somewhere dry and cool, the flour will keep for several months. Masa harina is naturally gluten-free, but check the packaging to make sure it wasn't processed at a facility that also processes wheat before using it to make gluten-free foods.
What are your favorite ways to use masa harina?
Related: Beyond Wheat Flour: 3 Delicious Whole Grain Flours You Should Try Now
(Image: mtr/Shutterstock)
How To Make Perfect Bacon in the Oven
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Straw Mat from The ...
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
In the small town where I grew up, there were no tortilleria or even crummy grocery store tortillas to be had, so I would always get this for making tortillas.
Just made a batch of veggie tamales this past weekend! Yum!
Yup, I always have a packet of masa harina on the shelf for making corn tortillas, pupusas, and arepas. (Which reminds me, it's time to make and freeze a giant batch of pupusas.) Even my just-passably-competent homemade tortillas are miles better than anything I can buy locally because they're so fresh.
Sometimes I add a bitl of masa harina to the dough for savory pastries to give it a bit of extra flavor and texture. In the freezer right now, I have a packet of black bean pastries in a dough laced with masa.
It's frowned upon in some circles but I put a tablespoon of masa harina in my chili to thicken it up. I also use masa harina to coat my oysters when I fry them.
Ooh, I love masa harina! I had a big crush on it for a while, and put it in everything!
I tried making tortillas, but I don't have a press, so they came out delicious but not very pretty. Here they are with pigeon peas and greens.
ANd I made pupusa with pinto beans and spinach. Loved eating and making these!
And I made some smoky masa harina crepes with pumpkinseed-sage sauce.
I add it to my chili as a thickener and to give it some flavor.
Ooh, this just reminded me of one of my favorite breakfast-for-dinner meals: masa harina pancakes topped with chorizo and an over-easy egg. Deeelicious.
Claireooto, I LOVE that tortilla. It's hilarious!
Masa Harina is actually not used for arepas. Masa arepa is quite similar to Masa harina except that masa arepa has not been nixtamalized (treated with lime). Not sure how that makes it different from corn meal, but there you go. In a pinch i have seen masa harina used for arepas, but it's not traditional. (and besides the masa differences, i'm not sure how pupusas (which use masa harina) are different from arepas (which use masa arepa)
Thought I was the only one who used masa harina to thicken up chili. Works great, and the corn flavor can really add to the dish.
Along those same lines, it's wonderful in chicken tortilla soup. In fact, I like to make it real thick and just forgo the tortillas sometimes.
Lastly, for the folks who've ever had trouble making tortillas with masa harina - don't consider the amount of water to add on the bag as gospel. You have to get a feel for it - too much and it's sticky, too little and it's crumbly. Start with what's on the bag (usually too little) and add water (or more masa) to get the balance right. Once you have a feel for it, you're on to more pressing issues like, "How to get your tortillas to puff when they cook." (I'll let you look that one up - it involves a paper towel.)
i add a bit of cayenne to the masa before adding the water when making sopes, so good!
i press them between a sheet of plastic wrap to get the right thickness.
smother them with black beans & avocado; so good.