Posted on 12/27/2017 2:10:11 PM PST by nickcarraway
Consumption of the corn tortilla, the very symbol of Mexican cuisine, has dropped by some 40 percent over the past 30 years
Consumption of the corn tortilla, the very symbol of Mexican cuisine, has dropped by some 40 percent over tahe past 30 years while losing flavor and texture, despite the varieties of Mexican corn that exist in the country, Rafael Mier, businessman and promoter of the corn tortilla, told EFE.
"In Mexico, right at the center of where corn originated, there's not just one kind of tortilla, there are hundreds of tortilla varieties, as there are of Mexican masa harina corn flour," said the promoter of Rescue Tortilla Consumption in Mexico.
Yet the tortilla is being abandoned because it's being homogenized by industry with its whiteners, conditioners and artificial coloring, and by the authorities themselves "since they don't keep a register of who is sowing which corn varieties."
People assume there's only "white and yellow corn," which leads to a deterioration of the national gastronomy.
For example, the traditional soup known as pozole in the capital is made with cacahuacintle corn, in Guerrero with ancho corn, and in Nayarit with jala corn.
In Jalisco people consume corn that is highly modified "for mass production," while other states like Oaxaca and Sinaloa no longer use local corn, Mier said.
Mexican dishes like enchiladas, tacos, chilaquiles and tostadas have the tortilla as their "invisible ingredient" that goes unnoticed "as to its image, quality and flavor."
Mier said it's important to deal with "the loss" it is having, "both in terms of consumption and quality," as well as what the "culture" is losing, considering the "excessive" amount of fast foods being consumed both in urban and rural areas.
He called on people to promote the use of Mexican corn varieties and flavors in nixtamalization (soaking and cooking the corn in an alkaline solution), since these types of corn "have been enjoyed for more than 2,000 years as tortillas."
"For the first time we're in danger of losing them," Mier said.
Sounds like there’s an opportunity for a “local food” movement in Mexico. The Andean countries have seen a resurgence of interest in their wide variety of potatoes.
Certainly this can be blamed on PDJT, somehow.
Sorry...
“Rescue Tortilla Consumption in Mexico”?
Do they have a telethon?
That looks wonderful. I love fresh corn tortillas.
“Invisible ingredient”?
Oooohhhhh.....on the corn.
That’s why they need outhouses with TP.
Two books I have read (both by soft lefties) discuss related issues:
“The Dorito Effect” discusses how adding flavors to food wound up displacing food that is less tasty AND less nutritious. The title comes from the Taco Flavored Dorito as a bellwether of the coming trend.
“The Omnivore’s Dilemma” describes corn as the perfect commodity food, and how modern practices discourage quality (which is hard to measure on a large scale, and doesn’t necessary improve the final product anyway) in favor of fast and prolific growth. The author shows that a typical fast food meal, due to HFCS and corn oil, is pretty much loaded with corn-based calories, and that we are getting too much of the stuff, and not in its best form.
Both books are good reading (though the last section of Omnivore’s Dilemma can be skipped).
“Rescue Tortilla Consumption in Mexico”
Oh, their commercials are so dang sad.
A tortilla sitting there with big, sad eyes just begging for a Mexican to eat it.
I have to turn the channel.
All I know is that Mexicans are probably the best cooks in the world. Like everywhere else we have many good Mexican joints in my town. Yet, about twice a year I’ll find myself eating at Taco Bell and wondering what madness has taken me.
That would be a good thing-much better than the fast food crap that only encourages people to be fat. My mom and aunts taught all of us girls to make corn tortillas with masa harina from scratch by the time we were 10-11 years old-it is not as easy as you would think, either...
Flour tortillas were not made, bought or eaten in our homes. Those things made from white flour that most Anglos like are not real tortillas to me-no taste, no texture, just empty carbs with no nutritional value-I’d rather eat cooked cardboard...
Blame it on Bimbo.
My gradfather, he was keeled by a weazel. He was sleeping on thee railroad tracks, and he did not hear thee weazel.
I've always been a flour tortilla fan. Could never get used to the taste and texture of the corn ones.
Yellow corn, lime, and water. Anything else in the ingredients list and I pass.
I hate all white bread, but Pan Bimbo is the worst-my cub absolutely loved it when she was little and tried to get me to buy a loaf(I always refused) if we were at a grocery store that carried it...
For just 29 cents a day, you can rescue a tortilla....
Taste like ethanol?
#metoo
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