molienda

Molienda is a Spanish noun derived from the verb “moler,” meaning grinding or milling. In agriculture and food production, it most often refers to the crushing of sugarcane to extract juice, followed by clarification and evaporation to yield raw sugar; the same term is used in parts of the Philippines where cane sugar is common. In coffee, molienda can denote grinding, the desired grind size (such as molienda fina, media, or gruesa), or specific processing stages that prepare beans for roasting. For cacao, molienda is used both for the fermentation of beans and for grinding nibs into liquor, cocoa butter, or paste. In corn processing, molienda commonly refers to milling nixtamalized maize into masa used for tortillas or tamales. The word also appears in mineral processing, where it means grinding ore to liberate valuable minerals. Separately, Molienda is the name of a harvest festival in the Mixtec region of Oaxaca, Mexico, marked by traditional music, dance, and regional dishes. The precise meaning depends on context and the commodity or craft involved.