40,000 Tortillas a Day
Alex has been working in his family’s tortillaria in El Tuito since he was ten years old. He happily greets me every time I bring folks by to see the whole process of making tortillas. First stop is the back room where 5 kilogram bags of dried kernels are stacked floor to ceiling as testament to the thousands of tortillas they produce in a day. He tells us the best corn for making tortillas is from Sinaloa, Mexico. Most corn grown around my town of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is field corn best used for animal feed.
Corn or maize (Zea mays) is thought to have been domesticated in Mesoamerica over 7000 years ago from a wild grass known as teosinte. There are more than 42 different types of maize in Mexico, each of which has several varieties whose number is estimated at more than 3,000! The characteristics of each variety depend upon soil conditions, humidity, altitude, and how cultivated. The word maize is derived from the indigenous nahuatl language and is used universally for this agricultural crop. Corn has many other uses like feed corn and sweet corn but is all some type of maize.
There are three cement gas-fired soaking tubs full of maize. Alex tells us one tub holds 8 bags of the Sinaloa corn that soaks and cooks in the heated water for about eight hours. Limewater (calcium hydroxide) is added to the water to alkalinize it in an ancient process created by the Aztec and Mayan civilizations known as nixtamalization which removes 97–100% of aflatoxins from mold-contaminated corn. It also helps unlock proteins and remove the husks so the corn can be more easily ground. Corn not nixtamalized has led to niacin deficiencies known as pellagra and protein malnourishment such as kwashiorkor.
After cooking, the kernels are washed and ready for grinding. This prepared grain is called nixtamal or hominy. This is sold at the tortillaria for use in making pozole, menudo, and other foods. Ground as a dry flour it is masa used for tamales. After mixing with a bit of water, the dough is made into huge dough balls for introduction into the hopper of the tortilla machine.
Tortillas are then ejected onto a conveyer belt, passed over gas flames, and finally delivered as perfectly round thin tortillas. Alex’s family, the Silva’s, have four tortillarias in Tuito which make about 40,000 tortillas a day. One kilo is about 36 tortillas. They make at least 1200 kilos/day so more than 40,000! Tortillas are not only available to the families in town but delivered by car, truck, moto, and bus to the entire Cabo Corrientes region. Insulated chests are always stacked along the wall waiting to be filled with orders of tortillas which will stay warm until their delivery.
Blue corn tortillas are sometimes available in town if the Tarahumara Maize Azul flour is available. In addition to the daily staple of tortillas, maize is also used in many Mexican dishes including tamales, atole, tacos, chilaquiles, enchiladas, tostadas, quesadillas, and posole.
Learn more about my El Tuito Tour at: www.puertovallartawalkingtours.com
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