• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Mexican Please

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Most Popular
    • Most Recent
    • Salsas
    • Appetizers/Sides
    • Beans
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
    • Enchiladas
    • Main Dish
    • Mexican Cooking 101
    • Tacos
    • Soup
    • Tortillas
    • Vegetarian
  • Articles
  • Cooking Course
  • About Me
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Start Here
  • Recipes
  • Course
  • Contact
  • About Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Start Here
    • Recipes
    • Course
    • Contact
    • About Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    Home

    What is Calcium Hydroxide?

    2 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet

    The alkaline agent used in the nixtamalization process is frequently referred to as Calcium Hydroxide.  But what exactly is it?

    First, let's back up a bit.

    To make corn tortillas you'll need to soak the corn in an alkaline agent.  This will improve the nutritional profile of the corn and, more importantly, it will make the tortillas taste better!

    This masa dough is a great starting point for homemade corn tortillas, tamales, and pupusas. We're taking a shortcut by using a food processor to grind the corn and so far the results are fantastic! mexicanplease.com

    Wood ashes are highly alkaline, and there's a good chance that this is how the Mesoamericans discovered the process, but these days it's most common to use Calcium Hydroxide as the alkaline agent.

    Calcium Hydroxide is made by mixing Calcium Oxide with water, and you'll frequently see it referred to as Slaked Lime.

    In the food industry you'll see it referred to as Pickling Lime, Cal, or Cal Mexicana.

    It's all the same thing, a white odorless powder that you can usually find in the Latin goods section of the supermarket.  If not there you'll definitely find it at Hispanic markets (or Amazon).

    Here's the recipe for a recent batch of homemade corn tortillas I made using some White Olotillo Corn. I used a food processor to grind the corn down and added in some Masa Harina to get the right consistency. mexicanplease.com

    Then it's just a matter of soaking some dried field corn in the Cal and letting it rest overnight.

    The next day you can rinse it off and the Calcium Hydroxide will have done its job.

    Here's the recipe for a recent batch of homemade corn tortillas I made using some White Olotillo Corn. I used a food processor to grind the corn down and added in some Masa Harina to get the right consistency. mexicanplease.com

    Grind this up and you've got some real deal masa dough on your hands.

    Here's the recipe for a recent batch of homemade corn tortillas I made using some White Olotillo Corn. I used a food processor to grind the corn down and added in some Masa Harina to get the right consistency. mexicanplease.com

    You can use this masa dough to make corn tortillas, tamales, or even some gorditas.

    And that's Calcium Hydroxide in a nutshell.  Easy right?

    If you want to see how we use it then check out our homemade Masa Dough post.

    And here's a bit more detail on the Nixtamalization process. 

    Feel free to get in touch if you have any additional questions about any of this.  Cheers.

    P.S. Here are links to two good Calcium Hydroxide choices on Amazon:

    Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime

    Cal Mexicana

    Here's the recipe for a recent batch of homemade corn tortillas I made using some White Olotillo Corn. I used a food processor to grind the corn down and added in some Masa Harina to get the right consistency. mexicanplease.com

     

    Still hungry?!

    Want to receive Mexican Please recipes via email when they are posted?  Sign up below to subscribe.  All recipes are spam free.

    And don't worry, we hate spam too!  You can unsubscribe at any time.

    Thank You For Subscribing!

    Primary Sidebar

    Hey, I'm Patrick! I spent 2 years living in Cozumel and got obsessed with Mexican food. I built this site to share all the recipes and techniques I've learned along the way. Read More…

    Footer

    Mexican Recipes

    Cooking Course

    Mexican Cooking 101

    Ingredients

    Salsas

    Starting a Food Blog

    Enchilada Recipes

    About Me

    Contact

    Disclaimer

    © 2025 Mexican Please
 - Privacy Policy