Corn Tortillas Made at Home From Scratch

Those of you who know me well know that I am an international kind of guy.  I love the USA very much but I also love several other countries.  This results from having been born in Peru, raised in Mexico, living in Canada, Italy, and Brazil (where two of our children were born), and having traveled to around Latin America, Europe, India, Japan etc.  Being a "world citizen" has informed my views on politics, religion, war, immigration, and--let's see have I left out any controversial topics? um, oh yes--food.  

On the latter topic I particularly enjoy discovering and experiencing indigenous foods.  By that I mean what the people of a place have eaten for hundreds or thousands of years.  Those indigenous foods are almost invariably simple, delicious, and nutritious.  In short they have stood the test of time.  They are classics.  

One of these timeless classics is the humble corn tortilla.  The tortilla was eaten in Meso-American cultures since long before the arrival of Columbus.  The Aztecs ate corn tortillas at every meal with avocado, turkey meat, eggs, beans, honey, squash, peppers etc.  Their diet made them strapping and strong.  The early Europeans remarked on the health, vigor, and strength of the average native which was a significant contrast to the plague-ridden louse-infested lands they had left.  It's true that the Europeans had technological superiority but they could never have conquered the native peoples had they not decimated them first (and accidentally by the way) with illnesses such as cholera and small-pox to which the native Americans had no immunity.  But I digress... where was I?  Ah yes the humble tortilla.

The natives discovered that the maize they grew and dried was much more digestible if they soaked it in an alkaline solution first to remove the tough outer hulls and soften the grain.  They would then mash the grain into a paste using a mortar and pestle.  That pasty dough was made into many things, but especially tortillas, and was known in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs as "nixtamalli".  The process of making is called nixtamalization, and the Mexican's call this dough masa.  By the way nixtamalization not only makes the maize more digestible, it actually improves it nutritionally by freeing the corn's bound niacin, by improving the balance among essential amino acids, by increasing the absorbablility of important minerals (i.e. calcium, iron, copper, and zinc), and by destroying toxins molds and carcinogens that sometimes occur in raw corn. Today masa is either made directly into tortillas/tamales etc. or it is dried, ground into flour, and sold as "masa harina" which can be reconstituted and made into tortillas.

If you live near a tortilleria (where tortillas are made and sold fresh) then you really don't need this post because you can buy wonderful tortillas at a relatively low cost.  If however you live where you don't have ready access to fresh tortillas, or you like me are interested in learning how to do things yourself, then read on and try it out.  The results are delicious and quite good for you.   After all that do you still want to try it?  OK, here's how:

Ingredients:

• 8 cups Corn
• 5 Tbsp Lime (not the citrus, the mineral-calcium hydroxide) I bought a bag of Mrs. Wage's Pickling Lime in the canning supplies area at WalMart for a couple of dollars
• 1 gallon Water

Instructions:

 Mix all together and bring to a boil in a non-reactive pot (stainless steel or enamel are fine).  Stir and watch it so it doesn't boil over.  Boil for about 5 minutes and then remove from heat, put a lid on it, set it aside to soak.  Soak it at least overnight, but the longer you soak it the greater nutritional benefits.  I soaked mine for 3 days.  Place it in a colander and rinse it well.  Protect your skin from the lime water with rubber gloves etc. and keep some vinegar nearby.  If you do get some on your skin and you begin to feel a little burn just apply some vinegar to neutralize it.  It's not a big deal though.  Most recipes say to rub the corn kernels in your hands to remove the outer shell, but in my case by soaking it for 3 days the outer shell had dissolved to a thin film which mostly came off when I rinsed it.  After it's rinsed and cleaned put it in a food processor (batches that are about half full) and turn it onto low speed.  It will chop the kernels initially, and you may need to scrape the sides down occasionally, but let it keep going until it becomes a smooth ball of dough.

This dough is nixtamal or  masa.  You can use it to make tamales (that's a different post) or tortillas.  Form golf-ball-sized balls of masa (keep the masa covered in plastic while you're not using it because it can dry out easily). There are various ways to flatten and cook the tortillas:

• Place between two heavy pieces of plastic (e.g. a freezer zip-lock bag cut along all sides but one works well), flatten, and roll out the masa into a flat tortilla.  Immediately place on a heated skillet or griddle and cook on each side until it begins to puff up slightly and browns.
• Use a tortilla press (you can buy or make one of these, it consists of two flat metal or wood surfaces that are hinged to press the dough between them).  I suggest you use the plastic with the press as well
• My favorite tortilla-making tool is a specialized electric iron that presses and cooks the tortilla simultaneously.  There are several manufacturers by mine is made by Revel.

The tortillas are best eaten fresh and hot.  Just put butter on them or have your ingredients ready to go.  If you have leftovers cut them into triangles and fry them into chips. 

Get in touch with your inner Aztec try this little adventure.   It's not something I'll do every day, but I love the pure freshness of my own masa, and I've enjoyed very much learning the secrets of this indigenous food.