The Art of the Tortilla
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Here is a great discussion of the important of the tortilla in Mexican cuisine, and all the work that goes into making them fresh. Below is an excerpt from the book about the fascinating history of the tortilla.
Title: "Mexico: The Cookbook" Author: Margarita Carrillo Arronte Excerpt: |
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The Ancient Art of the Tortilla
Mexico has long been fuelled by corn tortillas. It is not known exactly when the first of these flatbreads were made, but archaeological evidence showing nixtamalisation (see Corn, page 19) practiced at 1500-1200 BC points to the fact that it is undoubtedly an ancient art.
Traditionally there were many stages in the cooking process to get to the simple end result of a thin, round, flexible bread. Making tortillas took up a large part of a woman's day - and in some areas, it still does.
First the dried corn kernels were nixtamalised, a relatively easy process where the corn was boiled briefly in water mixed with powdered lime, or calcium hydroxide, called cal in Mexico - then left to cool and soak overnight. Then the corn was rinsed and the skins of the kernels, loosened by the lime, were rubbed off.
Grinding the kernels was the next and most laborious part of making tortillas, done with a metate - a large stone base with a shallow depression in it - and a mano - a cylinder of stone for grinding, like a horizontal mortar and pestle (The more traditional-shaped mortar and pestle is also used in Mexican cooking and is called a molcajete).
Once the corn was ground, water was added to make the mixture into dough, and small portions were deftly patted out to thin discs in the hands. The tortillas were cooked on a comal over an open fire.
In the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century, the tortilla-making process was industrialised. Electric corn grinding machines were invented from the 1920s through to the 1950s, thousands of mills (molinos) opened in neighbourhoods and villages. Women would take their pre-soaked and washed corn to the mill, have it ground, and then return home to make their tortillas. In the 1960s, Mexico's tortillerias (shops to buy tortillas, for those who preferred not to make them at home) started using machines to roll out and cook tortillas. And then instant masa flour - nixtamalised and ground corn, returned to a dry flour state - hit the market in the 1970s, for people who still wanted to make tortillas but wanted a shortcut. In a century the art of the tortilla had been altered completely. As a result, there is a big difference in the quality of tortillas available today, but many people still favour the taste of those made from freshly ground nixtamalised corn and are versatile enough to be used in everything from tacos to tostadas (see glossary, page 686).
Traditionally there were many stages in the cooking process to get to the simple end result of a thin, round, flexible bread. Making tortillas took up a large part of a woman's day - and in some areas, it still does.
First the dried corn kernels were nixtamalised, a relatively easy process where the corn was boiled briefly in water mixed with powdered lime, or calcium hydroxide, called cal in Mexico - then left to cool and soak overnight. Then the corn was rinsed and the skins of the kernels, loosened by the lime, were rubbed off.
Grinding the kernels was the next and most laborious part of making tortillas, done with a metate - a large stone base with a shallow depression in it - and a mano - a cylinder of stone for grinding, like a horizontal mortar and pestle (The more traditional-shaped mortar and pestle is also used in Mexican cooking and is called a molcajete).
Once the corn was ground, water was added to make the mixture into dough, and small portions were deftly patted out to thin discs in the hands. The tortillas were cooked on a comal over an open fire.
In the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century, the tortilla-making process was industrialised. Electric corn grinding machines were invented from the 1920s through to the 1950s, thousands of mills (molinos) opened in neighbourhoods and villages. Women would take their pre-soaked and washed corn to the mill, have it ground, and then return home to make their tortillas. In the 1960s, Mexico's tortillerias (shops to buy tortillas, for those who preferred not to make them at home) started using machines to roll out and cook tortillas. And then instant masa flour - nixtamalised and ground corn, returned to a dry flour state - hit the market in the 1970s, for people who still wanted to make tortillas but wanted a shortcut. In a century the art of the tortilla had been altered completely. As a result, there is a big difference in the quality of tortillas available today, but many people still favour the taste of those made from freshly ground nixtamalised corn and are versatile enough to be used in everything from tacos to tostadas (see glossary, page 686).
Chiles
Chile is celebrated in so many parts of world, from blow-your-head-off green papaya salads on street sides in Thailand, to chicken stir-fries laden with astounding amounts of dried chiles in Sichaun province, China, to the harissa pastes of north Africa that fire up meat, vegetables or couscous. But nowhere celebrates the nuances of chile like Mexico, its homeland.
- from "Mexico: The Cookbook," by Margarita Carrillo Arronte
- from "Mexico: The Cookbook," by Margarita Carrillo Arronte