The nixtamalisation is a process very old méso-American by which grains of Maïs are soaked and cooked in a solution Alcalin E, usually of the Eau of lime, which weakens the transparent external hull, the Péricarpe.

This process has multiple advantages like making it possible the grain to be crushed more effectively; it increases the assimilation of the Protéine S and the Vitamine S; it increases its taste and its flavor and reduces the mycotoxins. The product resulting from this process is called nixtamal . It is crushed to obtain a paste of nixtamal or “massed”. In the language of Aztec, it (Nahuatl), the word indicating this product is nixtamalli or nextamalli (IPA: or), become in Mexican Spanish nixtamal (IPA: however). The word nahuatl is composed of nextli (“ashes”) and tamalli (“cornstarch ground, tamal”).