Most American tortillas taste like cardboard. Chefs, restaurants, and companies are trying to restore the corny glory.
  • Krudler@lemmy.worldEnglish
    10·
    2 days ago

    Just hot air.

    I’ve been making my own tortillas for a decade and I can tell you there’s nothing newly wrong with the corn flour. It’s the same it’s always been.

    Yeah it’s always best to have heirloom with minimal processing, but I’d rather have 100 homemade tortillas with basic nixtamalized corn flour for $3 not $30

    This article is a bunch of wind.

  • countrypunk@slrpnk.net
    51·
    3 days ago

    They have a good point. I did research into cornbread for a project and it’s suffered from the same issue as tortillas. Most cornmeal that you buy in the store nowadays tastes like sawdust and has to be enriched with a bunch of stuff to make it preserve longer. Originally southern-style cornbread had zero added sugar in it, but most recipes nowadays call for a tablespoon of sugar to balance out the flavor of the sawdust cornmeal so it ends up just tasting like nothing. You don’t do that if you use good, heirloom corn, and it actually has flavor.

    It ultimately comes down to the quality of the corn and the method that they use to process it and to maximize profits. Stone ground cornmeal yields a better product, but is less efficient.

  • Mayor Poopington@lemmy.worldEnglish
    20·
    3 days ago

    Used to live near a tortillaria that made fresh blue corn tortillas. Had to get there early because they would sell out fast, but man they were good.

  • yesman@lemmy.world
    3·
    2 days ago

    I got a tortilla press for Xmas last year. It really is a different experience. And I’m just using plain grocery store masa.

  • WhiteOakBayou@lemmy.world
    4·
    3 days ago

    I prefer corn tortillas but often end up buying flour to keep at home because corn tortillas have to be warmed and flour doesn’t

    • thefartographer@lemm.ee
      93·
      3 days ago

      You ready for an insane trick? Store your corn tortillas in the fridge. When you’re ready to use some (preferably a lot at once) grab the number of tortillas you want, plus two. Heat up a pan or griddle to medium/medium-high heat and carefully place the stack of tortillas on it, dry. Let that go until you start smelling the tortillas without standing over them, then flip the whole stack. Let this go until you smell the now-bottom tortilla starting to burn, then flip the stack one last time and let it go until the other end’s tortilla starts to burn. Remove the two burnt tortillas and place the rest in a tortilla warmer until you’re ready to enjoy your beautifully steamed but not damp corn tortillas.

      Also, if you’re not warming your flour tortillas, you’re really missing out. If you have a gas stove, turn the flame on low and heat up the tortillas individually directly on top of the burner. Like-fresh every single time.

      • Passerby6497@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        3 days ago

        Unless you’re eating at a local taqueria that makes their own (or you know a friend who makes their own), they’re not wrong. Commercial corn tortillas are fucking gross, and I hated them until I had fresh ones.

        • Sergio@slrpnk.netEnglish
          21·
          2 days ago

          Unless you’re eating at a local taqueria that makes their own

          Luckily there are local taquerias all over the US, even in rural areas. Better go patronize them quick before their customer base is deported.

          • Passerby6497@lemmy.worldEnglish
            3·
            2 days ago

            Better go patronize them quick before their customer base is deported.

            Not sure about where you are, but here the staff is more likely to be deported than the clientele. Which is a real shame, I like the staff more than my fellow patrons more often than not.

            • Sergio@slrpnk.netEnglish
              11·
              2 days ago

              Fam, keep an eye out for offices with signs that say “Remesas” or “Envios” in the window. Those are places that help you send money back home to Latin America. Then look for a taqueria nearby. Guaranteed to be the best in town. They tend to be nearby so people can send money on their lunch breaks.

      • JustAnIdiotPlsIgnore@lemmy.world
        41·
        3 days ago

        They aren’t wrong. Corn tortillas in USA are a crime to most hispanics. Go across the border and it’s night and day. Same thing with the bread here.