Boiling corn in an alkaline solution breaks down the fiber and allows the niacin contained to be used by humans. Native Americans knew to boil their corn in woo

Boiling corn in an alkaline solution breaks down the fiber and allows the niacin contained to be used by humans. Native Americans knew to boil their corn in wood ash, but Christopher Columbus didn't realize this was important. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization