Corn Tortilla

Corn occupies a foundational place in Mesoamerican civilizations, where it was considered a sacred gift at the very origin of humanity's creation according to certain Mayan accounts. The discovery of nixtamalization, a process involving cooking the grains in alkaline water and then letting them rest, transformed this rustic cereal into a supple, nutritious, and digestible food. This technique, passed down orally from mother to daughter for generations, also released nutrients from the grain that would otherwise be poorly assimilable. The resulting tortilla was not simply an accompaniment bread, but the very heart of the meal, serving simultaneously as plate, spoon, and staple food. Even today, in many rural Mexican households, preparing corn dough and cooking it on the comal remains a daily gesture inherited unchanged from the Ancients.

• 1 kg dried corn (traditional white or yellow variety)
• 20 g slaked lime (cal) or wood ash for nixtamalization
• 2 liters water
• Pinch of salt (optional depending on region)

1. Boil the dried corn kernels in water with added slaked lime until the kernel skins begin to detach.
2. Let the cooked corn rest overnight in its cooking water to complete nixtamalization.
3. Rinse the kernels thoroughly, now called nixtamal, to remove excess lime and loosened skins.
4. Grind the nixtamal, traditionally on a grinding stone (metate), until obtaining a fine, homogeneous dough called masa.
5. Shape small balls of dough by hand, then flatten them into regular discs, often using a wooden press or by simple patting between the palms.
6. Cook each disc on a heated comal, turning it halfway through cooking until light golden marks appear and it puffs slightly.
7. Wrap the cooked tortillas in a clean cloth to keep them supple and warm until serving.

The traditional tortilla offers a mild, slightly earthy flavor characteristic of nixtamalized corn, with a subtle note recalling the lime used in cooking the kernels. Its texture is supple and elastic when fresh, capable of folding without breaking, while its surface develops small golden marks and sometimes slight bubbles during cooking. The aroma it releases, warm and vegetal, immediately evokes the comal and the family hearth.