Comment on Misacquetash Recipe by Roger Plassmann.
the way I get it .. the natives added an unknown (to me) amount of wood ash to the pot .. this added some lye .. aiding the breakdown of the very tough bran covering of the corn kernel (evidenced by what you see when you’re done digesting the corn) .. this afforded them some of the previously locked up niacin. This tradition carries through in technocratic culture in the charring of oak barrels to age sour mash Bourbon.