Mexico City Eats: Tortillas a Mano

It’s a well-known fact that the tortilla is a staple of Mexican food. Tortillas are made from specially treated corn flour or masa which consists of whole corn kernels that are boiled with an alkali until they loosen and float. Then the kernels are drained, crushed, and dried to make flour. The flour is mixed with water and made into dough. Tortillas accompany every meal and frequently act as the main ingredient, as is the case with several popular Mexican dishes including tacos and enchiladas.

Street vendor preparing tortillas a mano

These days most tortillas are produced by a machine known as a tortilla press and sold at tortillerias. Tortillerias are shops that produce and sell fresh tortillas right off the press, and more often than not they consist of just a single small room housing the machine. In Mexico City you can find a tortilleria on just about every corner and in all of the local markets.

Tortillas are frequently sold by weight (kg) as opposed to quantity and wrapped in paper. The average cost of a kilogram of fresh tortillas in Mexico City is currently around M$8 ($0.68), though prices often fluctuate. Flour tortillas, pre-packaged and sold in supermarkets, are still a rather new concept in Mexico, more expensive and far less popular than the traditional corn variety.

While the majority of Mexicans buy their tortillas at these street side tortillerias, it’s also possible to find tortillas a mano, or handmade tortillas. Handmade tortillas are most commonly found at street food stalls where local women in aprons flatten balls of masa onto their makeshift stoves. The freshly made tortillas are used to prepare items such as quesadillas, huaraches, gorditas and sincronizadas.

The practice of making tortillas by hand continues to be an important Mexican tradition and something of an art. It takes a great deal of practice to make the perfect handmade tortilla and the skill of making tortillas by hand is one that is frequently passed down from generation to generation. As for taste, handmade tortillas tend to be thicker and more flavorful than the machine made variety. The next time you pass a street vendor preparing tortillas a mano be sure to stop and sample the local specialties, you’ll be glad you did.

Photo Credit: Laura Nazimiec