Kitchen ✦
Why we nixtamalize our own masa
Every tortilla we serve starts as dried heirloom corn from Oaxaca. It is slow, it is messy, and it is the whole point.
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Most tortillas in New York start as a bag of powdered masa harina. Ours start as whole dried corn, grown by small farmers in Oaxaca and the State of Mexico, in shades of blue, red and gold.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The process</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nixtamalization is an ancient technique. The corn is simmered in water with cal, or slaked lime, then left to steep overnight. This loosens the skins, unlocks nutrients, and gives masa its unmistakable flavour. The next morning we rinse it and grind it on a volcanic stone mill.</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A tortilla is not a plate. It is the dish.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Why it matters</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Fresh masa tastes of corn in a way packaged flour never can. It is sweeter, more aromatic and more tender. It also means we can buy directly from farmers who keep heirloom varieties alive.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sit at the counter on a weekend afternoon and you can watch our cooks pressing tortillas by hand and laying them on the comal, a few hundred times a night.</p>
