The tortillas you might purchase at the grocery store or even your favorite Mexican restaurant are more redolent of cardboard than corn, Kristen V. Brown writes. Now, a growing group of chefs, restaurants, and companies are trying to change that.
Making masa, a dough that comes from nixtamalized corn, is time intensive—but around the turn of the 20th century, an enterprising tortilla maker developed a way to dehydrate masa and package it so that tortillas could be made quickly by just adding water. This innovation, known as masa harina, eventually helped spread tortillas, most notably by the company Gruma (brand name: Maseca). “It also made most tortillas taste like nothing,” Brown explains. As Gruma’s products “proliferated, traditional tortilla making declined. My great-grandma was a Texas Mexican, and I have many fond memories of eating her buñuelos and tamales, but can remember virtually nothing about her tortillas.”
For many Americans, tortillas made with commodity corn have long been the only easily available option. But exploding demand for tortillas has encouraged artisanal producers, resulting in a new wave of masa made from single-origin, heirloom corn that restores the sanctity of Mexican culinary stalwarts.
“To taste a tortilla made from heirloom corn is to get a little closer to its ancient roots,” Brown writes. “But that heritage is being marketed, at least right now, mostly to the economically advantaged shoppers.” Masa harina from the company Masienda, for example, “is infinitely more corn-y than Maseca; it’s also $12 for 2.2 pounds, compared with $6 for four pounds of Maseca.” According to a 2023 census report, Hispanic people in the U.S. earn less than almost any other ethnic group. This means that the masa revolution may be pricing out descendants of the people who invented it.
Still, the tortilla has come a long way from “the days of the Spanish conquistadors, who viewed masa as the unhealthy food of an uncivilized people and imported wheat instead,” Brown continues. “Today, Mexican food—and most especially tortillas—are mainstays of the American diet.”
Damn I love good corn tortillas, and for awhile, Trader Joe's had good corn tortillas. But then their source changed and what they sell now are almost as bad as grocery store tortillas but in a different way (cornier, but too tough, almost hard--Bob can't bite into them). I buy white corn tortillas at a Mexican market because they're the best alternative around, but still not what I want and remember from decades ago--the kind that grew mold after a month even when refrigerated because they weren't loaded with preservatives. Even the Mexican market ones I buy don't do that.
