MEXICO: The Art of Making Corn Tortillas in the Yucatan Peninsula

Corn is a sacred crop in Mayan tradition.  

According to the Mayan creation story, the gods first tried to make humans from mud and wood, but those attempts failed.  

Finally, the gods created the first humans from a paste of yellow and white corn. 

The Mayans had a god of corn called Hun Hunahpu.

They performed rituals to the god at various stages of corn growth.

The Mayans considered corn a key part of their identity and corn gave food and life to their communities.

Corn tortillas are a a huge part of Yucatán’s culinary and cultural heritage dating back to the traditions of the ancient Mayan.

To make corn tortillas, first, the corn kernels are soaked and cooked in lime juice and water. 

 

 

The process improves the nutritional value and digestibility of corn and gives it a savory flavor.

 

 

 

After the corn has been softened it is ground into the masa dough.

The masa is weighed for consistency and pricing. 

In many farmers markets across Yucatán, tortilla-making machines speed up the process.

These machines press the masa into perfect discs and cook them on conveyor-style griddles. 

They produce stacks of warm tortillas in minutes, which are then sold by weight.

 

 

Some people will buy the masa dough and then make them at home. 

For homemade tortillas, the masa is divided into small balls 

and then pressed into thin discs using a tortilladora (tortilla press). Banana leaves or plastic is used to keep the masa from sticking to the press.

 They are then cooked on a comal, a flat griddle traditionally made of clay or cast iron. 

Fresh tortillas accompany nearly every Yucatecan meal in a variety of ways.

They are designed to go well with margaritas....