I just "discovered" this group, after not having a newsfeed for a
couple of years, now with a new ISP, I can finally access Usenet
without Google!

I'm an ex-Californian who now lives in Italy, and I miss my Mexican
(and other ethnic) food! I'm a pretty good cook, so I try to make my
own. I live in a large city (Milano) so I can find a lot of the
ingredients that I need, but often I have to substitute. Mex food is
not unheard of here, but what you get in a restaurant is pretty bad,
and EXPENSIVE ($12 for 2 awful "tacos"). I can find flour tortillas
($3.50 for 8) in the supermarkets - the brand is Uncle Ben's - yes
THAT Uncle Ben !!!

I grow my own jalapeños, habañeros, tomatillos and other peppers and
make salsa and pickled peppers. See: http://www.graffi.to/peppers.html

The big problem is that there are NO corn tortillas to be had at all.
Corn chips, yes - tortillas no. So I try to make my own. I found a
Phillipino shop that sells masa harina, my dear friend sent me a cast
iron tortilla press. I found a bazillion recipes for corn tortillas on
the net - woohoo! The problem is (finally getting around to the
subject), that my tortillas just don't seem to come out right. My only
point of reference is store bought or restaurant tortillas, which in
the east bay area of San Francisco (Oakland) were all pretty good. I
have only been to Mexico once, and bought corn tortillas from a little
hole in the wall shop, which were much better (being FRESH), but
similar to the above mentioned ones. The ones I make aren't like that.

I've followed all the directions I've found, and I think that the
problem is in the cooking phase. Either they come out kind of raw, or
cooked longer, with a sort of leathery crust on the outside. Only
occasionally do they puff up. I use a dry cast iron pan - maybe it's
too hot/cold (I've tried both)?

I'd like to hear from those with *direct* experience with cooking
tortillas.

Thanks.

>From: chiaroscuro

>I've followed all the directions I've found, and I think that the problem is
in the cooking phase. Either they come out kind of raw, or cooked longer, with
a sort of leathery crust on the outside. Only occasionally do they puff up. I
use a dry cast iron pan - maybe it's too hot/cold (I've tried both)?

OK, I have both direct experience with frying corn tortillas and theoretical
knowledge, too...

I remember being instructed in how to deep fry frozen commercially made corn
tortillas in the kitchen of the officer's mess when I was on KP in the
military...

The sergeant told me to drop the frozen tortillas into the vat of hot vegetable
oil, one at a time, and when they floated to the top, they were done...

The rapidly expanding water inside the frozen tortilla is what made it "puffy".
Then I was instructed about how to
stuff them with fried ground hamburger and onions and cover them with red chile
sauce and cheese and bake them into delicious enchiladas...

Theoretical rant:

A real Spanish tortilla isn't made of corn or of flour. If you ordered a corn
tortilla in Madrid, the waiter would think you were silly, unless he was
familiar with Mexican cooking...

A Spanish tortilla is like an omelet, it's made with eggs, and it might also
contain diced potatos, the potatos being the New World's contribution to the
Spanish tortilla. And Spanish farmers would feed corn to their pigs, people
don't eat corn...

A torte is a kind of cake, and a tortilla is a sort of humble cake...

So, when the Spanish conquistadores arrived in the New World and saw the native
Mexicans making humble little cakes out of corn meal, they called them
"tortillas", being reminded of Spanish cuisine...

Local Native Americans used a steatite comal to cook their tortillas *dry*. The
comals probably came from Mexico, even though there was steatite on the Channel
Islands and the local NA's traded acorns for steatite, which is a stone that
can be heated by to the point where it glows, without being damaged by the fire
below. But the NA's would use the steatite they got for carving animal
figurines for trade with inland tribes...

So, you might try getting your cast iron skillet really really hot, or use a
thinner steel pan...

And, if you don't use any oil, you're going to have some scorch marks on your
tortillas, especially on flour tortillas, that's inescapable. You have to learn
to love the taste of scorched tortillas...

But, what the heck, the local NA's probably appreciated their scorched corn
tortillas, after eating their own acorn meal flat bread all their lives. Acorns
are very bitter, if all the tannic acid isn't leached out, and a scorched
humble tortilla couldn't be more bitter than acorns...





# * 0 * #
^

Try this url: A great place for Mexican recipes and Mexican store items.
http://www.mexgrocer.com/mexican-recipes.html
P.S. I live in California
Ernie

"chiaroscuro" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> I just "discovered" this group, after not having a newsfeed for a
> couple of years, now with a new ISP, I can finally access Usenet
> without Google!

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 20:17:22 GMT, "Ernie"
> wrote:

>Try this url: A great place for Mexican recipes and Mexican store items.
>http://www.mexgrocer.com/mexican-recipes.html
>P.S. I live in California
>Ernie


Interesting site, thanks. Their method for making tortillas is a
little different that what I tried before - I'll give theirs a try.

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 20:17:22 GMT, "Ernie"
> wrote:

>Try this url: A great place for Mexican recipes and Mexican store items.
>http://www.mexgrocer.com/mexican-recipes.html
>P.S. I live in California
>Ernie


Interesting site, thanks. Their method for making tortillas is a
little different that what I tried before - I'll give theirs a try.

While this is not about making tortillas at home, you might enjoy
seeing how it is done commercially in Mexico:
http://rollybrook.com/tortillas.htm

Rolly,
What a great Webb site and pictures. Your friends seem nice and happy. Are
there any trout in that river? You made a wise choice going there.
Ernie

"Rolly" > wrote in message
om...
> While this is not about making tortillas at home, you might enjoy
> seeing how it is done commercially in Mexico:
> http://rollybrook.com/tortillas.htm

>Subject: Cooking Corn Tortillas
>From: (Rolly)

>While this is not about making tortillas at home, you might enjoy
>seeing how it is done commercially in Mexico:
>http://rollybrook.com/tortillas.htm

That is fantastic. Wish we had one here. Is the corn they start with fresh
off the husk or dried first?

One of the restaurants in Lafayette, LA has a tortilla machine in the dining
area. They put the moist masa in the top and the tortillas wind their way
down. Smells great and fun to watch.

Henrietta

It really is interesting isn't it. The corn is dried.

"Hazels65" > wrote in message
...
> >Subject: Cooking Corn Tortillas
> >From: (Rolly)
>
> >While this is not about making tortillas at home, you might enjoy
> >seeing how it is done commercially in Mexico:
> >http://rollybrook.com/tortillas.htm
>
> That is fantastic. Wish we had one here. Is the corn they start with
fresh
> off the husk or dried first?
>
> One of the restaurants in Lafayette, LA has a tortilla machine in the
dining
> area. They put the moist masa in the top and the tortillas wind their way
> down. Smells great and fun to watch.
>
> Henrietta

On 24 Nov 2004 17:36:03 -0800, (Rolly) wrote:

>While this is not about making tortillas at home, you might enjoy
>seeing how it is done commercially in Mexico:
>http://rollybrook.com/tortillas.htm

Interesting site, thanks...

Those recipes are making me HUNGRY.