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I am trying to perfect my technique for preparing authentic quality pizza at home here in CR. I am almost there in terms of the right taste and feel except I can´t seem to find one essential ingredient here in CR (at least so far). The simple stone ground corn meal that lubricates the pizza peel so the dough will slide smoothly to the cooking stone is nowhere to be found. I tried buying some whole corn kernels from Hipermas and Sarreto and blasted them in the blender for a long time. What can out was like coarse gravel that you would find in a bad parking lot. The texture on the bottom of the pizza was not so much a problem as the threat to my fillings and dental work. Does anyone know where to get regular corn meal here? The corn masa is too fine. I am a little embarassed to order corn meal from the U.S. through my Aerocasillas account.
[quote=”bstckmn”]I am trying to perfect my technique for preparing authentic quality pizza at home here in CR. I am almost there in terms of the right taste and feel except I can´t seem to find one essential ingredient here in CR (at least so far). The simple stone ground corn meal that lubricates the pizza peel so the dough will slide smoothly to the cooking stone is nowhere to be found. I tried buying some whole corn kernels from Hipermas and Sarreto and blasted them in the blender for a long time. What can out was like coarse gravel that you would find in a bad parking lot. The texture on the bottom of the pizza was not so much a problem as the threat to my fillings and dental work. Does anyone know where to get regular corn meal here? The corn masa is too fine. I am a little embarassed to order corn meal from the U.S. through my Aerocasillas account.[/quote]
The only place I have found it is at the Auto Mercado in the Multi-Plaza. Sometimes you can find Polenta which is basically the same thing.
I use Biolands ‘German de trigo’ or their Afreho ‘Fibra natural’…and it works fine for my pizzas 8)
I have problems sometimes finding Semolina flour for pasta, but that can also be found at an Auto mercado…if you’re lucky.[quote=”costaricafinca”]I use Biolands ‘German de trigo’ or their Afreho ‘Fibra natural’…and it works fine for my pizzas 8)
I have problems sometimes finding Semolina flour for pasta, but that can also be found at an Auto mercado…if you’re lucky.[/quote]Thanks. I am not familair with Biolands products. Can they be found at Automercado too? Are there health food strores around San Jose?
Most of the supermarkets stock Bioland products and include many different products. [url=http://www.bio-land.org/aboutus.html]Bioland[/url]
There are small health food stores all over the country and are called ‘Microbioticas’.[quote=”bstckmn”]I am trying to perfect my technique for preparing authentic quality pizza at home here in CR. I am almost there in terms of the right taste and feel except I can´t seem to find one essential ingredient here in CR (at least so far). The simple stone ground corn meal that lubricates the pizza peel so the dough will slide smoothly to the cooking stone is nowhere to be found. I tried buying some whole corn kernels from Hipermas and Sarreto and blasted them in the blender for a long time. What can out was like coarse gravel that you would find in a bad parking lot. The texture on the bottom of the pizza was not so much a problem as the threat to my fillings and dental work. Does anyone know where to get regular corn meal here? The corn masa is too fine. I am a little embarassed to order corn meal from the U.S. through my Aerocasillas account.[/quote] I was told recently that one can not buy good ole corn meal in CR. I am bringing some for a friend next trip. May want to go ahead and order some. Good luck.
[quote=”alexander69″][quote=”bstckmn”]I am trying to perfect my technique for preparing authentic quality pizza at home here in CR. I am almost there in terms of the right taste and feel except I can´t seem to find one essential ingredient here in CR (at least so far). The simple stone ground corn meal that lubricates the pizza peel so the dough will slide smoothly to the cooking stone is nowhere to be found. I tried buying some whole corn kernels from Hipermas and Sarreto and blasted them in the blender for a long time. What can out was like coarse gravel that you would find in a bad parking lot. The texture on the bottom of the pizza was not so much a problem as the threat to my fillings and dental work. Does anyone know where to get regular corn meal here? The corn masa is too fine. I am a little embarassed to order corn meal from the U.S. through my Aerocasillas account.[/quote] I was told recently that one can not buy good ole corn meal in CR. I am bringing some for a friend next trip. May want to go ahead and order some. Good luck.[/quote] We live in Puriscal. If you don’t live too far away from Puriscal or San Jose I will bring you some also. “Do unto others”.:lol:
[quote=”alexander69″][quote=”alexander69″][quote=”bstckmn”]I am trying to perfect my technique for preparing authentic quality pizza at home here in CR. I am almost there in terms of the right taste and feel except I can´t seem to find one essential ingredient here in CR (at least so far). The simple stone ground corn meal that lubricates the pizza peel so the dough will slide smoothly to the cooking stone is nowhere to be found. I tried buying some whole corn kernels from Hipermas and Sarreto and blasted them in the blender for a long time. What can out was like coarse gravel that you would find in a bad parking lot. The texture on the bottom of the pizza was not so much a problem as the threat to my fillings and dental work. Does anyone know where to get regular corn meal here? The corn masa is too fine. I am a little embarassed to order corn meal from the U.S. through my Aerocasillas account.[/quote] I was told recently that one can not buy good ole corn meal in CR. I am bringing some for a friend next trip. May want to go ahead and order some. Good luck.[/quote] We live in Puriscal. If you don’t live too far away from Puriscal or San Jose I will bring you some also. “Do unto others”.:lol:[/quote]
Thanks, Alexander. Thanks to a tip from Scott, I did find maiz de polenta at Automercado. It works pretty well on the
pizza peel at 540 colones for a half kilo. It is coarser than masa harina but a little less coarse than the Quaker brand corn meal in the familiar cardboard canister package or the more boutique stone ground organic brands in the U.S. All things considered, now my pizza life in CR is just what I want it to be!
P.S. For those pizza fanatics out there in CR, EPA has a slab of countertop granite cut about the size of a large cutting board that fits on my small gas grill. It makes a dandy pizza/bread baking stone that delivers a firm pizza bottom after about a half hour of preheating. I estimate that I may be getting almost 600 degrees F with the grill hood down. To suit my adopted Tico lifestyle, I am using Jim Lahey´s no knead pizza dough recipe for great crust with an economy of effort (google for recipe).I am just wondering if anyone has built (or had built) a true outdoor, wood-burning pizza and bread oven. I would lo-o-o-o-ove to have one!!! I have seen them at a couple of restaurants (one near Atenas) and would love to have one at our new house. Thx!
omg, don’t use granite to cook on!!! it emits radon! not only that, it really isn’t a good heat conductor as other stones might be. we use ceramic floor tiles in our oven here. and it works just fine. we have a neighbor who put granite on the floor of his outdoor pizza oven and my Italian-chef husband had a fit when he saw that. anything would be better than granite!
maravilla, I’m curious just how much radon is emitted by granite during (say) the process of heating it and cooking bread or a pizza on it. Seems like this cooking is most likely to occur outside where the radon would be quickly dispersed into the atmosphere, no?
Is granite uniquely radon-saturated? It also seems that other earth-source materials, including the materials that go into ceramic floor tiles, might contain radon which could be released.
if the food is in direct contact with the granite, well, it’s only logical that you are contaminating it. certain colors of granite emit more radon than others. there was a big brouhaha a couple of years ago about NOT using granite for countertops because of the radon and the potential lung cancer risk, especially if the area isn’t well ventilated. some say the risk is minimal; others say it isn’t safe at all. the darker the granite, the more radon. i didn’t come across information about other natural stones with this problem, and several people i know ripped out their granite counters just to be sure. i have light colored granite in my kitchen and my house is well ventilated, but sometimes i wonder if i made the right choice. i sure as heck wouldn’t cook on it when other material is a better heat conductor without the radon risk.
Hmm . . . Seems like the problem is broader than just granite regardless of color. Here’s a quote from the website of a testing company:
“FACT – All natural products, especially stone, minerals, and sand, contain trace amounts of some radioactive elements called NORMs (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Mineral) that can produce measurable amounts of radiation and sometimes radon gas.
This includes all concrete products, clay bricks, most non-plastic plates and dishes, coal and the flyash produced in coal-fired power plants, natural gas (contains radon), phosphate fertilizers used in your garden (ALL contain potassium and small amounts of uranium and thorium), and the vegetables grown using those fertilizers.”
You can read more at: http://www.radon.com/radon/granite.html
If what they say is true, we have much more to fear from the masonry most of our homes (in Costa Rica) are made of than from our countertops.
Please read this article from the EPA before ripping out counter tops and pizza oven stones or running off to CIMA for radon poison testing.
http://iaq.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/iaq.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=5103
Tranquillo mi amigos.
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