¬ Corn mother is a staple food of the desert southwest, and is a food we who grew up here hold close to our hearts. Where I spent my youth at Taos Pueblo it seems everyone eats some version of atole ( corn porridge ) for breakfast. I like mine made with cedar ash, blue corn, raw honey, grass-fed unpasteurized butter or bear fat, and a little desert lakebed salt.
The Comanche people would travel north from the plains with bison hides and meat and trade with my people of Taos Pueblo for their corn. The Comanches knew they needed carbohydrates, which help with hydration and living in the desert southwest. Since they were nomadic and couldn’t grow crops of their own they would seek it out from pueblo people who had given into Spanish control and were safe to grow crops.
In modern day, the addition of ash is rare to find in food containing corn, but is a tradition that goes back centuries. When you cook corn in ash, or cal, the alkaline solution creates changes not only in flavor, texture and aroma but in the chemical composition, functional properties and nutritional value. Cooking corn in ash increases bioavailability of vitamin B3 niacin, increases calcium intake, increases resistant starch content, which serves as a source of dietary fiber and many others.
We use blue corn that we grew with ash from our wood stove. Not only does corn + ash tell a story of who we are and where we came from, but also it nurtures us.
↓ MASA
500g Ash or 5g Cal ( NM red cedar )
3000g Water ( well or spring )
500g corn ( flint )
3g Salt per 500g masa ( fine ground Celtic salt )
NOTE: Though this is a recipe, it is largely a launching point. Each corn, each ash, each water used will change the process. If you decide to start exploring cooking corn in ash and making masa or tortillas, revel in the unknown and the failures and know the only way to consistently make perfect tortillas is in persistence.
↓ METHOD
Add ash and water together in the cooking pot. ( we use a Staub or micaceous clay pot )
Bring ash and water to a simmer, and strain through a fine mesh strainer. ( commonly hardwood ash is used, but in NM we don’t have much hardwoods so we use cedar ash )
Add corn and strained liquid to a pot and simmer for 35-45 min. We cook ours for 35min but each corn is different. ( the corn should be translucent of the outside and whitish opaque on the inside. )
After cooking let the corn sit in cooking liquid for 7-12 hours at room temperature.( do not refrigerate. Ideally you cook the evening before you need the masa and let it rest as you sleep )
After resting rinse the corn in warm water and rub between your hands to remove the outside skin of the corn. ( not all the skin needs to be removed, it actually holds a lot of the flavor, but removing some or all of it helps with the consistency of the masa )
Rinse again as many times in cold water as it takes for the water to be clear.
↓ GRIND
Grind in a CORONA stone mill molina or in a MOLINITO once.
After this point add masa to a bowl and add salt. Mix in salt and warm water
( if needed ) by hand, squeezing through your fingers until fully incorporated. ( add a little warm water if needed / Masa should be dry enough it doesn’t stick to your hand, but as wet as possible. Add water in small amounts to be sure to not add too much. )
Grind 1-2 more times. Store and let the masa hydrate until needed at room temp, it’s best best if let to rest a few hours.
↓ COOKING
Heat a comal to medium high heat. Either a flat seasoned cast iron or a clay coma work best. ( don’t let it smoke )
In a tortilla press ( VICTORIA ) with cut out squares of ziplock bags roughly the size of the press, press a ball, roughly 20g, to the thickness of roughly 1/16 of an inch. ( each masa will be different and you’ll have to try different thicknesses, heat, and timing. )
Remove the tortilla without compromising the integrity and gently put on hot comal. Let it cook until it is no longer sticking to the comal ~30 seconds.
Flip once onto a new spot of the comal, let it cook for 15 seconds ( if flipped on to the same spot the pan won’t be as hot )
Flip twice onto a new spot of the comal, let it cook for 15 seconds. ( you are trying to create a seal on both sides, if it is cooked for too long or too little it wont puff )
Flip a third time onto a new spot of the comal, let it cook for 15 seconds and on this last stage if it hasn’t puffed you can press it with the tips of your fingers or the back of a spatula to help the puff.
Remove once puffed. ( it should puff and not be dry )
Store in a linen and keep warm.
If you have leftovers leave out over night to dry out, and have tostadas for the following evening.
↓ PHOTOS
