Instant Nixtamalization for Cornmeal Mush, Polenta, Grits, and/or Cornbread

In an effort to improve the nutrition and digestibility of the heirloom corn that is finally growing in abundance, I am learning about nixtamalization.
Unfortunately, most of the instructions require boiling corn kernels in a lime solution for some lengthy period of time and letting the corn rest in this solution overnight: a significant additional step and time consuming process that I would like to avoid.
I'd like a method that dovetails easily into my current corn-cookery practice: grinding about a week's worth of corn into coarse, medium and fine meal then cooking it into mush, polenta, grits and/or cornbread.
Luckily, the answer to this question of how to avoid the boiling/soaking/waiting steps is right here among the tribes of the American Southwest. This linked PDF from The Bureau of Indian Education provides an overview of the Diné process of adding 1 teaspoon of juniper ash per cup of cornmeal to get the nutritional and other benefits of nixtamalization.
After some experimentation, I am now able to produce a 1 cup jar of juniper ash in about an hour from a juniper on-site. This cup of ash contains 48 teaspoons with long (maybe unlimited) shelf-life. An actual serving of juniper ash is 1 teaspoon and a serving of cornmeal is 1/4 cup so I am now testing the flavor impact of increasing the amount of ash per cup of cornmeal.

Are there any other permies using this process who have suggestions or tips to share? If anyone has questions about implementing this step, please ask and others may have answers.

Chef Lois Ellen Frank, Ph.D, of Red Mesa Cuisine in Santa Fe offers this instructional video on how to produce Culinary Juniper Ash and Blue Corn Mush at home.
I found this video exceptionally helpful in producing my own juniper ash without any grit.
This is a fun and very accessible cooking project!

Have you read any studies comparing the chemistry of this approach to Mexican nixtamalization? A quick search didn't turn anything of that nature up, though I did find some neat reading.

Thanks for your curiosity Christopher.
I don’t have any scientific studies that compare the American Southwest’s treatment of corn with the Mexican treatment (though much of the Southwest used to be Mexico). Both treatments incorporate alkaline additives to access and add nutrients to the corn.
In my case, adding a spoonful of ash that is made from free and locally sourced juniper for my home-grown corn offers benefits that support multiple permaculture goals. By following the locally sourced method, my respect for the ancestral traditions that emerged out of this place deepen.

Now a question for you! Given that corn is part of the history of Minnesota, how did the tribes of your region process corn for maximum benefit?

I don't really know. I live up north in Ojibwe territory, but Sean Sherman (the Sioux Chef) nixtamalizes with hardwood ash, but it isn't clear to me whether there is a continuous tribal-historical precedent for that or if the connection to the past was lost and he's doing his best to reengineer it, or how local that tradition is.



What I'm specifically wondering with the processes that you posted is, how much of the time spent transforming the pericarp that the long-form nixtamalization normally accomplishes is obviated by breaking the kernal up before the treatment. I'm dubious that cooking it with juniper ash produces the same niacin transformation, but I don't really have any way to judge. And if nothing else, the ash is a wholesome nutritive addition.

Christopher writes,

I'm dubious that cooking it with juniper ash produces the same niacin transformation, but I don't really have any way to judge.

Happily, there is a source that can answer your question! The information provided in the link in the original post was published by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). As an academic institution, they are obliged to site their research.
Contact information for the research provided is available at BIE.edu if you scroll down on their home page.