masa

This term refers specifically to the nixtamalized corn dough central to Mesoamerican cooking. It is distinct from general cornmeal or corn flour because the corn has been soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually lime, which alters the chemical structure to make the dough pliable and more nutritious.

In culinary contexts, masa is treated as a mass noun. While one might refer to different types of masa, it is rarely pluralized in standard English usage, as it describes a substance rather than a discrete object.