Adding moisture to old mielies

Inevitability

Inevitability

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Hi myBB chefs,
I love stripping mielies off the cob and frying it with some butter. Awesome snack that reminds me of being back home.
Occasionally, the street vendor won't have very fresh mielies, or sometimes I'll have it in my fridge for a few days and it dries up a bit.
Is there any way to "juice it up" and get the moisture back in the mielies?
I usually put some water in the frying pan with the mielies and butter and close the lid for the first 5-10mins until it evaporates and then stir fry until golden brown. This doesn't really rehydrate it much.
Suggestions?
Or am I asking for the impossible?
 
You're asking for the impossible. Not even brining them would work. In fact when it comes to corn, brining actually dries them out more than anything else, contrary to some logic being spread around.

Bottom line is that once moisture has been lost, you're not going to get it back in without injecting each kernel individually. The only thing that you can do with slightly dry corn is to turn it into a puree of sorts, where you can still get the flavour out of it while adding moisture.

Adding water to the butter won't help at all...
 
Only thing I cant think of to do with the fridge bit its to seal them in clingwrap or in a airtight container (in containers case maybe with a bit of water in a small thing, like a plastic bottle top?)...
 
supersunbird said:
Only thing I cant think of to do with the fridge bit its to seal them in clingwrap or in a airtight container (in containers case maybe with a bit of water in a small thing, like a plastic bottle top?)...
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Yip. The fridge is an incredibly dry place. It literally strips moisture from food if not sealed correctly...
 
Try placing it in a tupperware with half an apple when you store it. That should prevent it from dehydrating in the first place.

Also...good trick for saving baked goods that have turned to stone...a day in a tupperware with 1/2 apple saves it.
 
HavocXphere said:
Try placing it in a tupperware with half an apple when you store it. That should prevent it from dehydrating in the first place.

Also...good trick for saving baked goods that have turned to stone...a day in a tupperware with 1/2 apple saves it.
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Not quite sure about the science here. Is it the ethylene supposedly preventing drying out or is there something hygroscopic going on? If it's a physical hygroscopic reaction then anything with fats will take on the flavours of the apple, but I still don't quite yet buy the science involved. If it's ethylene then I've also not heard of it.

If it is airtight then it's unlikely to go stale very quickly in any case. If they're both in an airtight container then the air might strip more moisture from the apple and effectively become saturated before stripping the moisture from the baked goods. This is plausible I suppose, but being in an airtight container in the first place would have already helped to prevent the baked goods from going stale. This requires an experiment...
 
DJ... said:
Not quite sure about the science here. Is it the ethylene supposedly preventing drying out or is there something hygroscopic going on? If it's a physical hygroscopic reaction then anything with fats will take on the flavours of the apple, but I still don't quite yet buy the science involved. If it's ethylene then I've also not heard of it.

If it is airtight then it's unlikely to go stale very quickly in any case. If they're both in an airtight container then the air might strip more moisture from the apple and effectively become saturated before stripping the moisture from the baked goods. This is plausible I suppose, but being in an airtight container in the first place would have already helped to prevent the baked goods from going stale. This requires an experiment...
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No idea as to the science - I just know the baked goods thing works like a bomb. I've tried it with great success on these. Those were just dried out (a few weeks air exposure) - not sure whether thats the same as your idea of stale.

Come to think of it the 1 day part might have been longer though...bit fuzzy on that front.
 
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HavocXphere said:
No idea as to the science - I just know the baked goods thing works like a bomb. I've tried it with great success on these. Those were just dried out (a few weeks air exposure) - not sure whether thats the same as your idea of stale.

Come to think of it the 1 day part might have been longer though...bit fuzzy on that front.
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Oh I think I know what you're saying. You mean that the apples rehydrated already stale food?

In which, possibly. They'll certainly take on some of the apple flavour in the process. It will then be a hygroscopic reaction saturating the air with moisture and the moisture almost clinging to the stale goods. It won't penetrate into large foods. It's also not a very hygienic option - moisture-rich environments are bacterial breeders...
 
DJ... said:
Oh I think I know what you're saying. You mean that the apples rehydrated already stale food?
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Yes, though in OPs case I think it might be more useful to add the apple straight away.

DJ... said:
It's also not a very hygienic option - moisture-rich environments are bacterial breeders...
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Pretty much anything in a tupperware in a fridge is going to be moisture rich.

In fairness though - Lebkuchen seems to last +- indefinitely without going bad so maybe its a bad benchmark for safety.

DJ... said:
They'll certainly take on some of the apple flavour in the process.
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Theoretically yes. In practice is not an issue. Not with the stuff I linked to anyway.
 
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