“MEXICO CITY (AP) — As Mexico City’s 9 million residents sleep in the pre-dawn darkness, busy hands are already preparing the day’s corn tortillas in the small kitchen of Molino El Pujol, a tortilla shop that is part of a famed chef’s bid to help recover Mexico’s iconic food.

As the old tortilla machine roars to life at 5 a.m., a steaming hot mass of lime-treated corn mash is loaded into one end, where it is divided into small portions, flattened and baked. Fresh tortillas come out the other end, letting customers taste a bit of Mexican history that chefs say is being eroded by modern production techniques and modern corns.

If the “Pujol” in the shop’s name sounds familiar, it’s because its creator is chef Enrique Olvera, whose Mexico City restaurant Pujol is rated among the world’s best restaurants.

Why would the star of Mexico’s culinary world open a simple tortilla shop, or tortilleria, which conjures up images here of working class homemakers lining up for their tortillas with cloths that save them a peso on paper wrapping?

For the 43-year-old Olvera, it was a logical step, given that he had already started supporting the local farmers who supply his restaurants. His shop is part of a new tortilla movement launched by a handful of chefs, restaurants and organizations to restore and popularize authentic tortillas…” [more follows]

https://apnews.com/7f95de4a7a5c4d1d85083d7517231e9f

If you have Netflix, he is one of the chefs on Final Table. [Spoiler] He gets pretty far and his food looks delicious!

I'm not Hispanic/Mexican, but I like Mexican food especially tacos & enchiladas, so yeah maybe more places will follow along.

Olvera is a true culinary giant and a national treasure to Mexico, unfortunately there's many in Mexico who don't care nor, recognize that their food and resources are some of the greatest gifts they offer to the world. Real-deal, hand made tortillas are light-years better than the mass produced stuff.

My favorite taqueria makes their own tortilla's every day and they are awesome. I'll have to ask where they get their corn meal and if they use lime in the process. There is only one person there that speaks English so he's the one I'll ask, obviously.

Jim

Most folks like the food that they were raised on best, and that includes me – my mother’s midwestern cooking. But Baja Mexican is my second favorite. I have a round 9-1/2” stovetop iron griddle that serves as a comal (tortilla warmer).

I didn't know tortillas needed "restoration". Aren't they just fried plates of cornmeal mush?

flashguy

Gospel, translated-Good News!

Remember when Chevy's used to make their own tortillas in each restaurant?

Do they not anymore?

I was in Mexico City for a few days two years ago. Had tortillas in every restaurant, all were a bit different, and I'm pretty sure they were all made there.

But ok... go ahead and restore it.

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
I didn't know tortillas needed "restoration". Aren't they just fried plates of cornmeal mush?

flashguy

Just like saying a hamburger is a fried lump of cow mush.

Depends on how it’s prepped, if it was over mixed causing the tortilla to be tough, how thick it is, how coarse or fine the corn is, how well it was cooked...

Just like a crappy burger vs a good burger.

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
I didn't know tortillas needed "restoration".

Me either. The tortillas were/are excellent in the 4 cities I've lived in Texas and the 1 city I lived in SoCal.

The tortillas never were good in the 4 cities I've lived in the Upper Midwest, Calgary, and Anchorage.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
I didn't know tortillas needed "restoration".

Me either. The tortillas were/are excellent in the 4 cities I've lived in Texas and the 1 city I lived in SoCal.

The tortillas never were good in the 4 cities I've lived in the Upper Midwest, Calgary, and Anchorage.

The push is to develop and create a demand for the wide variety of corn that is available, whereas the mass produced tortillas use the same basic corn flour.

quote:

Originally posted by bobtheelf:
Do they not anymore?

Some don't even have the tortilla machine, anymore. Those that do, it just sits there like an ornamental decoration.