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.
I don’t like flour tortillas. They are like pancakes without the syrup.
Good brands of Corn tortillas are increasingly hard to find because they are mass produced by machines and aren’t texture conscious. Most are like rubber..................
A good thing to think about. Visited my brother south of Tucson a few years ago and wife and I were in heaven with so many good Mexican places to eat. When you grow up in SoCal it is in your genes, and moving someplace without a decent Mex restaurant leaves a large void. Guadalajara Grill and Elvira'e are sooo good after a few years of nothing.
Would not eat at TB or any fast food place so no risk there.
Oh, you are going straight to H E Double Hockey Sticks for that one!
Evidently, I’m going to be there, too.
Sorry is correct,sir.
That is Not a tortilla
but a Corn Flake!
It’s yet another sorry case of cultural disappropriation.
Drive thru taco shops in San Diego
Are FANTASTIC!
Shredded Beef Tostadas...Oh Yes.
I agree. They have great food in Mexico, and one of my favorite things is nice, fresh, warm, hand-made tortillas. I used to live near a tortilla factory in California, and you’d hear pat-pat-pat all day, interspersed with giggles and gossip, as the women sat there and made those wonderful tortillas.
Most tortillas are machine made now, so they’re stiff and of uniform thickness and just don’t have that magic!
“Rick, did you ever notice that the gal in charge of your dwindling pantry is four feet wide?”
Sally Struthers “Get in mah Belly” Negin
Your three ingredients are all that is needed for tortillas. But the problem is that the art of soaking a non hybridized corn in lime water for weeks and rinsing it at the right time is lost. Therefore, the taste and nutritional value of the traditional corn tortilla is lost also.
The white flour tortilla is a phenomenon of north west Mexico where the French introduced their white flour to make bread “pan” and unleavened, into the huge see through tortilla made only with lard, not oil. Baking powder aand preservatives were unthought of.
Most Mexicans I know have never tasted an authentic flour or corn tortilla. And certainly Gringos haven’t
There is a brand of masa harina made from stone-ground corn sold at the grocery store 18 miles away-you can’t ind it in the big chain supermarkets-it makes very tasty tortillas with a pleasant texture.
For real corn tortillas I go to the Mexican Inn on Henderson St/Jacksboro Hwy just north of downtown Fort Worth.
Just something perfect about a tortilla that is never perfectly round.
Aye Carumba!
Naw. The Lord Jesus forgave me for that long ago. He thought it was funny, too. I’m pretty sure.
Naw. The Lord Jesus forgave me for that long ago. He thought it was funny, too. I’m pretty sure.
Mexico has lost its best tortilla makers as they’ve all apparently moved to the US! I have no problem getting terrific corn and flour tortillas here in DFW-land.
Send back the Mexican Illegals, and tortilla consumption in Mexico would go way up.
I like his character better than Rick.
I grow 2 different varieties of corn, a flour and a flint corn, alternating years. I can tell you that the flavor of the old-world varieties is worlds apart from the newer ones! My flour corn makes cornbread that is soft and fluffy, and that tastes like sweet corn concentrate. My flint corn makes a polenta that will grab your attention no matter what you pair it with.
After tasting these, the stuff from the store just seems like empty filler.
If Mexico wants flavorful tortillas, it needs to go back to the older varieties.
Mind mentioning the brand? I haven’t found a ready made that tasted remotely like corn in a long time.
If it is perfect, it just doesn’t even look as appetizing to me-I live in a rural area of fellow natural living old hippies and off-griders-the grocery store stocks all the organic stuff we buy-stone ground corn and whole grain flour, free range/grass fed meat, etc-so I bake my own bread and make my own corn tortillas when I want them.
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