Corn chips, what is old is new again.
Information supplied from Mayan Mexican restaurants in the USA
Nixtamal, Masa and Tortillas
Homemade corn tortillas began to appear around 2500 BC when the indigenous peoples of central America realized combining maize with water and lime gave them a softer dough in a process known as nixtamalization.
Mesoamerican peoples first soaked corn kernels in an alkaline solution for a day, next they would cook the kernels in hot water infused with lime to remove the outer shell of the kernel.
They then ground the nixtamal into masa letting it dry to make corn flour or they would keep it wet for dough.
Finally the dough was cooked on hot stones with each tortilla made from a golf ball sized scoop.
The Nahua (Aztec) people called them tlaxcalli in their native language and they would cook them fresh off the griddle, wrapped around meat, fish and chili peppers for a meal.
The Spanish conquistadors took a liking to the flatbread immediately naming them “tortilla de patatas” (a name derived from the Navarra region of Spain) to become a staple food.
The word tortilla is the Latin root for twisted bread. This developed into the Spanish word “torta” meaning cake appended with “illa” meaning little.
By the 19th century, the tortilla industry was well underway and the mixture of native and European foods created Mexico’s first cosmopolitan cuisine. Batch-made and wrapped in a clean kitchen towel to retain heat and moisture, tortillas had started their illustrious international street food career.
Macro Mondays Chip Micro Nikkor 55mm f2.8 at f16 P4170866
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Corn chips, what is old is new again.
Information supplied from Mayan Mexican restaurants in the USA
Nixtamal, Masa and Tortillas
Homemade corn tortillas began to appear around 2500 BC when the indigenous peoples of central America realized combining maize with water and lime gave them a softer dough in a process known as nixtamalization.
Mesoamerican peoples first soaked corn kernels in an alkaline solution for a day, next they would cook the kernels in hot water infused with lime to remove the outer shell of the kernel.
They then ground the nixtamal into masa letting it dry to make corn flour or they would keep it wet for dough.
Finally the dough was cooked on hot stones with each tortilla made from a golf ball sized scoop.
The Nahua (Aztec) people called them tlaxcalli in their native language and they would cook them fresh off the griddle, wrapped around meat, fish and chili peppers for a meal.
The Spanish conquistadors took a liking to the flatbread immediately naming them “tortilla de patatas” (a name derived from the Navarra region of Spain) to become a staple food.
The word tortilla is the Latin root for twisted bread. This developed into the Spanish word “torta” meaning cake appended with “illa” meaning little.
By the 19th century, the tortilla industry was well underway and the mixture of native and European foods created Mexico’s first cosmopolitan cuisine. Batch-made and wrapped in a clean kitchen towel to retain heat and moisture, tortillas had started their illustrious international street food career.
Macro Mondays Chip Micro Nikkor 55mm f2.8 at f16 P4170866
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA