Replicating a Mayan Tradition. Making Tortillas from Scratch.

A strain of corn originally from the Yucatan. Peg sports her huipil, also from the Yucatan and I'm pleased with the corn.

 

The corn grows in the moonlight.

 

The corn in fall with fans.

 

Peg harvests an ear.

 

Dried ears before opening.

 

Now shucked

 

Now for the cooking. First add cal or lime (calcium oxide).

 

Now a bit of heat. Yeah, it's supposed to look like that. At this point is does not appear appetizing, but a warm smell of corn starts to permeate the kitchen.

 

Rinsing the corn. I was told to do this a minimum of seven times.

 

Now grinding with the molina. Not an easy thing to find. I suppose a metate would have been even more authentic, but I went with the "modern" technology of the hand molina.

 

Cooking tortillas. Not the perfect circles I hoped for, but close. No wood fire over an open hearth. Natural gas instead.

 

Quality control from el maestro.