REIMAGINE TORTILLA MAKING

Make delicious, nutritious tortillas with Glenn’s Floury Corn

We went to the experts to find out how Glenn’s Floury Corn performs in making tortillas. We asked Dr. Sergio O. Serna Salvador from Tecnológico de Monterrey — one of the world's foremost corn processing scientists and author of the industry reference texts on corn chemistry, tortilla processing, and nixtamalization — to run a tortilla study to assess our unique corn product. Dr. Serna Salvador and his team delivered thorough and exciting results.

They found that tortillas made with Glenn’s Floury Corn:

Required 0 minutes of active boiling time

Kernels steeped in hot lime solution only — heat was discontinued immediately on introduction. No sustained boil. Standard commercial corn requires 0.5–3 hours of active boiling.

Required 6 hours of total hot steep to masa-ready: 55–75% reduction in total processing time

Standard nixtamalization requires 10–20+ hours total. Glenn’s Floury Corn reached masa-ready nixtamal in a 6-hour hot steep. No change to existing equipment required — processors use the same vessels, stone mills, and baking lines.

Produced <1% Dry matter loss vs. ~5% standard, which significantly reduced nejayote load

Pericarp was nearly fully retained after steeping — less than 1% dry matter loss versus the industry standard of approximately 5%. This means less organic matter in wastewater, lower disposal costs, and a cleaner environmental profile.

Produced equivalent or better masa yield per bushel

Lower dry matter loss means more finished product per bushel of corn purchased.

Improved Nutrition:

  • Tortilla protein content 6.2% vs. 5.2–5.4% commercial average — supports premium nutritional positioning

  • Lysine at upper range for dent corn — PDCAAS 53.6% vs. 40–45% for standard corn

  • High phytochemical content: ferulic acid, diferulic acid, coumaric acid, and phytosterols documented as potent antioxidants

  • Higher dietary fiber retention in finished tortillas due to pericarp preservation during steeping

Made excellent tortillas and tortilla chips:

Researchers made table tortillas with good color, flavor, and flexibility. They were well accepted by untrained panelists. They also made regular, light, and fat-free tortilla chips. Commercial quality was achieved across all three formats. They found that the distribution of starch particle sizes produced by milling the nixtamalized Glenn’s Floury Corn was perfect for making tortillas!