US Patent 8110239 Quick corn nixtamalization process

A process for the production of fresh masa, nixtamalized flour and derived products. The invention is a new process for production of corn masa (dough) to be used in the production of tortillas, fried or baked tortilla chips, tostadas, or corn chips. The new process produces masa directly from raw materials without the traditional cooking and steeping steps. It utilizes a series of processing steps including dry blending, hydrating, and working dough in an extruder having a unique screw configuration. The new process uses very little water and emits no waste water.