Tortilla Trivia
One of the first widespread uses of electric motors and gas engines was to provide power to wet-grain grinders. These wet-grain grinders made masa, but people were still needed to form the dough into tortillas. However, in the 1960s, small-scale machines were capable of producing cooked tortillas at this remarkable speed.
What is every two seconds?
"Killed during [their] beauty sleep."
Who is Aisa (during her beauty sleep)?
Often made from basalt, this rectangular grinding stone was used throughout Mesoamerica to prepare the masa used for tortillas (s3)
What is a metate (or mealing stone)?
This protein network gives wheat tortillas elasticity but is absent from corn tortillas
What is gluten?
Bernardino de Sahagún traveled to Central America in 1529, where he then spent more than 50 years studying the local language, cultural beliefs, and traditions. Sahagún was a missionary priest and was primarily devoted to spreading Christianity in “New Spain.” In his notes, he wrote that the people didn’t just use corn in their tortillas, but also this delicious gourd.
What is squash?
This US state consumes more tortillas than any other
What is California?
In the ancient highlands of modern Mexico, tortillas were a staple in these two civilizations' diets.
Who are the Aztecs and the Mayans?
In northern Mexico, tortillas are often measured by this dimension rather than by weight.
What is diameter?
Originally called tlaxcalli, the Spanish renamed this flat, unleavened bread "tortilla," meaning "little cake." Ironically, a tortilla española is actually more like this classic breakfast dish (s4).
What is an omlette?
The ancient Mesoamerican process where dried corn is boiled and steeped in an alkaline solution, usually water mixed with food-grade lime (calcium hydroxide) (s2).
What is namiztalization?