This country’s appetite for tortillas is apparently insatiable.
We eat them with breakfast, lunch and dinner–and snack on them in between. They make appearances at the smartest white-tablecloth restaurants, at grab-and-go eateries and the most down-home of diners.
Our appetite for this flat bread is so voracious–Americans ate 84 billion tortillas in 2000–that tortilla industry revenues in the U.S. that year topped $4 billion. They are expected to reach almost $6 billion this year, according to the Tortilla Industry Association.
Chicagoans are doing their part.
Although Jewel-Osco has been stocking fresh tortillas in its stores in Hispanic neighborhoods for several years, “We began stocking fresh tortillas in 80 percent of our stores a year ago because of demand,” said Karen Ramos, spokeswoman for Jewel-Osco. Those stores get fresh tortillas delivered daily, she said, just as they do other fresh breads.
Stacks of fresh tortillas–Del Rey, El Milagro and El Popocatepetl, among others–can be found at supermarkets sharing shelf space with white bread, pita bread and loaves of rye. Tortillerias (tortilla factories) often run from early morning to evening to keep up with the demand and ensure fresh-made tortillas for stores and restaurants around Chicago.
In the city’s Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods, a sort of tortilla central for Chicago, there are more than a half-dozen tortillerias. Inside the simple factories, the earthy perfume of the corn and the gentle rumble of the tortilla-making machines fill the air. Customers, laden with bags of tortillas or the silky corn dough called masa that is used to make tortillas, keep the counter attendant busy.
“We don’t even close one day of the year; we are open 365 days,” said Yolanda Carreon, general manager of Del Rey Tortilleria, a 44-year-old firm with locations in Pilsen, Little Village and on West Grand Avenue. Although Del Rey makes corn tortillas, thin flour tortillas and a thicker flour tortilla called La Abuelita (little grandma), among others, it is corn that’s king.
“Corn is the best selling because people use it like bread here,”Carreon said.
Over on West 21st Street, Ernest Avina, owner of the 30-year old El Popocatepetl tortilla factory –El Popo to aficionados–has seen production there jump 15-20 percent over the last five years.
The reason? “Everyone is eating so much Mexican food,” he said.
Rick Bayless, whose restaurants (Frontera Grill and Topolobampo), cookbooks and TV shows celebrate Mexican cooking, takes it farther than that.
“The reason tortillas have become such a fast-growing segment is that everybody has become comfortable with them,” he said. “People I know who would never cook any Mexican food will sometimes have flour tortillas in their refrigerator or in their freezer because they just like to have something simple to heat up and wrap around their food before they eat it.”
The mainstream penchant for wraps and flour tortillas, whether in a Tex-Mex burrito or a classic Mexican taco, is partly due to the boom in the U.S. Hispanic population.
But Irwin Steinberg, who heads the Dallas-based Tortilla Industry Association, said the principal change he has seen over the years “is the acceptance of the tortilla by non-Latinos. It is no longer seen as just an ethnic bread.
“[And] retail sales in recent years have accelerated at a faster pace than restaurant sales simply because the market is now giving more shelf space to tortillas.”
Although this country’s tortilla production is heaviest in Southern California and Texas, Steinberg said, Chicago deserves a spot at the top of the pile thanks to the presence of large firms such as Azteca Foods Inc. as well as smaller tortillerias.
It’s not just in Chicago neighborhoods that people are blessed with freshly made tortillas. Grocers from Aurora to Waukegan also often stock freshly made tortillas, usually from Pilsen or Little Village tortillerias. A few of them, such as Supermercado Gonzales in Waukegan, also regularly carry fresh masa.
Staple and symbol
Countries throughout Central America eat tortillas, though they may be thicker than those in Mexico. Yet it is in Mexico where tortillas are woven throughout the country’s history, culture and everyday life.
“Tortillas are to Mexican cuisine what the sun is to the day and the moon to the night,” Mexico City cooking teacher and restaurateur Patricia Quintana wrote in “Feasts of Life,” her 1989 cookbook.
It has been that way for thousands of years. The first tortillas were made from corn and became an integral part of Mayan and Aztec diets. Wander the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City: There are statues of gods consecrated to corn and displays showing ancient women grinding the kernels.
When the Spaniards arrived in Mexico in 1519, Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagun was with them. De Sahagun wrote about tortillas — small white tortillas, big, rough brown and white tortillas — “eaten every day by the gentlemen.” The arrival of the Spaniards also meant the arrival of wheat and lard, which were eventually turned into flour tortillas.
Today, the tortilla remains the bread of Mexico. It is celebrated in poems, songs, literature and everyday life. Walk past a tortilleria where folks line up with pristine kitchen towels for their daily bread, and the fragrance of corn tortillas baking will catch your heart. In taquerias and fine restaurants, the rhythmic slap-slap-slap of moistened hands pattycaking balls of masa into tortillas is music for the soul.
“The tortilla, in its grandeur, serves not only as an accompaniment to many dishes, but also as a plate, as a wrapping, as a spoon to scoop up sauce, and as the basic ingredient of soups and many side dishes,” Armando Farga wrote in his 1963 book, “Eating in Mexico.”
“The tortilla is the one staple that a Mexican would not be without,” said Berta Navarro, co-owner of Chicago’s Cafe 28 and a native of Guadalajara. “Tortillas and beans–that is something that everyone eats, from the poorest family to upscale. It’s just an everyday item and has been that way since the Aztecs. … When kids are small, their mothers will put a little butter and salt on a tortilla, roll it up and put it in their hands so they have something to munch on.”
Chicago restaurateur Generoso Bahena (Chilpancingo and Ixcapuzalco) recalled his childhood in the state of Guerrero: “I ate tortillas three times a day. As I was growing up, they put small bites of tortilla in the water from cooking beans,” a concoction not unlike crumbled crackers in milk, he said.
Corn or flour?
There are basically two types of tortillas: Corn and flour.
Throughout much of Mexico, and at many restaurants in this city, “tortilla” refers to those prepared with masa, a corn dough. Masa begins with corn kernels that are cooked with water and powdered lime (the mineral, not the fruit) until the skins can be easily removed and the kernels ground.
“From the very early days, Indian cultures that depended on corn processed the kernels with the help of an alkaline substance,” Quintana said. “Only in the last generation have we understood the importance of lime to the nourishing properties of corn, whose stores of the vitamin niacin it releases.”
In northern Mexico and much of the U.S., “tortilla” means the flour version. Flour tortillas consist of wheat flour, lard, water and salt.
At its simplest, a corn tortilla is ground-up corn and water. Only when it is fried for chips or those hard shells does its calorie and fat count jump.
When Gloria Duarte opened Las Bellas Artes in Elmhurst 15 years ago, “Even with flour tortillas people didn’t know them real well, but they liked them right away,” she said. Back then they steered clear of corn tortillas. “Now people realize that corn tortillas are really good.”
Bahena, who has teams in each of his restaurants making tortillas from fresh white corn masa, said he can name a half dozen restaurants with people in the kitchen making tortillas that way.
You can find tortillas as big as dinner plates and as small as a compact disc, thick and thin, in all sorts of flavors. Their sizes and ingredients determine how they are used in the kitchen. Even though you can find yellow, blue and reddish chili-flavored tortillas, and tortillas flavored with the herbs cilantro and epazote, the white corn tortilla–called tortilla blanca–is the most popular.
“For quesadillas and tacos and dishes like that, the freshest white corn tortillas are the best choice,” Quintana said.
According to Bayless, “When people do embrace [corn tortillas], they embrace them so fully they say that there’s nothing else like them. There is such an incredibly heavenly aroma. They just can’t imagine anything more delicious-smelling than that.”
Tortilla glossary
Antojitos: Dictionaries translate these as “little whimsies.” At the table, it usually means snacks, ranging from tacos to quesadillas.
Burritos: Tex-Mex snacks wrap flour tortillas around almost anything.
Chilaquiles: Dried or day-old corn tortillas baked in a chili-spiked sauce.
Think bread pudding or noodle kugel.
Chimichangas: Deep-fried burritos.
Enchiladas: Corn tortillas rolled around a filling and sauced.
Fajitas: Tex-Mex roll-your-own flour tortillas with grilled fillings.
Flautas: Filled, rolled then fried corn tortillas that look like little flutes.
Gorditas: Thick corn tortillas split then stuffed with beans, meats, etc.
Huaraches: Thick, rimmed oval corn tortillas.
Quesadilla: Folded tortillas filled, usually with cheese, then heated.
Sopes: Thick, rimmed round corn tortillas.
Taco: A medium-thick, freshly made corn tortilla folded over assorted fillings.
Tostada: Crisp-fried round corn tortilla topped with beans or meat.
Tostaditas: Deep-fried, cut up tortilla pieces. Also called totopos.
— J.H.
Buying and cooking tortillas
Here is how to choose the right tortilla for the taste you want and the dish you want to make.
In the store
Fresh tortillas: Among those usually available are white corn tortillas (tortillas blancas), in a variety of sizes and thicknesses, as well as yellow corn tortillas. Generally, corn tortillas have no fat added. Wheat flour-based tortillas (tortillas de harina) usually have fat added, and can be found in range of sizes. They should all be fresh smelling and pliant. Many supermarkets have deliveries daily. Look for fresh tortillas in the ethnic food or bread aisle, or near the meat or deli counter.
Refrigerated tortillas: Usually flour; sometimes corn; they can often be found in the dairy case.
– Choose tortillas much the way you choose breads. “Buy several brands, then compare flavors and textures,” says author and cooking teacher Patricia Quintana.
“Judge them the way you would a good dinner roll or other bread,” says Cafe 28’s co-owner Berta Navarro. “How pliable is the tortilla once you heat it up? How does it fold?”
“Make sure that when you smell [corn tortillas], they smell like corn,” restaurateur Gena Bahena says. “You want to see that the package doesn’t have condensation on the inside. Sometimes that means they were refrigerated. Don’t get stale tortillas. You want to feel the paper: It should be crispy and warm.”
– Choose tortillas on how you plan to use them and personal preference. Flour tortillas are recommended for burritos and wraps; they are sometimes used for quesadillas. Thin corn tortillas are best for fried dishes, but may fall apart if sauced. Thicker tortillas are better for tacos, enchiladas, etc., but will absorb too much oil if fried.
“We have some tortillas that are only good for chips and not good to eat with your meal,” Bahena says. “We have tortillas that are good to eat with your meal but they are not good to make enchiladas because they get mushy.”
In the kitchen
If you have purchased very fresh, warm corn tortillas and plan to refrigerate them before using, Quintana suggests spreading them out for a few minutes to allow some of the steam to evaporate, otherwise the tortilla surface may flake when you separate them later.
To reheat corn tortillas, chef and author Rick Bayless recommends this: Wrap them in a clean kitchen towel. Put them in a vegetable steamer over boiling water. Steam them hard for 1 minute. Turn off heat and let them stand, covered, 15 minutes.
“You will have these soft and delicious corn tortillas. They won’t taste like cardboard,” Bayless says. “It will be very different than the toughness of a flour tortilla.”
It is best to consume freshly made tortillas that same day. If kept longer than a day, they should be refrigerated. Wrapped corn tortillas should last a day or two in the refrigerator. Refrigerated corn tortillas should be warmed before using to make them pliant and bring out the flavor. Heat them quickly — 30 seconds a side — on a griddle or over a low flame on gas stove, turning them with tongs.
Flour tortillas last a bit longer, wrapped well, in the refrigerator.
Making your own
You could copy ancient cooks by purchasing corn kernels, tracking down slaked lime, then cooking and grinding everything up into masa. Or you could purchase masa harina — Quaker and Maseca are two readily available brands of this special corn flour — and make your own masa. (Masa harina is not the same as cornmeal.)
Even the most ardent supporters of from-scratch cooking, though, suggest purchasing fresh masa if you want to make your own tortillas.
“The pound of masa at the grocery store [or from the tortilleria] will give you the best tortilla,” Bayless says. “The [packaged] masa harina is going to give you the second best one. . . . [It] always comes out grainier. It won’t be so pliable when you finish making them.”
Fresh masa is often available at tortilla factories by the pound and sometimes on weekends in grocery stores that cater to Hispanic customers. Be sure to purchase masa made specifically for tortillas not masa for tamales, which is a different product.
To make tortillas from fresh masa, use your hands to pat out the dough or use a tortilla press, which will produce evenly flattened tortillas. (Look for tortilla presses in the cookware section of Mexican markets, as well as at cookware stores such as Sur La Table and Chef’s Catalog.
Roll pieces of masa into 1- to 2-inch balls and place between 8-inch squares cut from a plastic sandwich bag. Place between the plates of a tortilla press; flatten. Remove top sheet of plastic. Turn, remove second sheet. Place flattened tortilla onto medium-hot griddle. Bake until the surface turns opaque, 45 seconds to a minute. Turn and bake the second side. Keep warm in a basket lined with a clean kitchen towel.
Tortillerias
El Popocatepetl, 1854 W. 21st St., 312-421-6143.
Del Rey Tortilleria, 1023 W. 18th St., 312-829-3725; 2701 S. Trumbull Ave., 773-521-7608; and 5201 W. Grand Ave., 773-637-8900.
— Judy Hevrdejs
Baked masa boats with cheese and roasted poblanos (Cazuelitas de queso y rajas)
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 56 minutes
Yield: 8 appetizers
Restaurateur Rick Bayless came up with this take on classic sopes that involves baking, rather than frying, the little shells. This recipe is adapted from “Rick Bayless’ Mexican Kitchen.” If you can’t get fresh masa for these, make your own by combining 1 cup masa harina with 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot water.
3 medium poblano chilies
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
1 small white onion, sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 cloves garlic, peeled, finely chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus a dash for seasoning
1/2 pound (about 1 cup) fresh masa for tortillas
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening or lard
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Chihuahua or Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup finely crumbled queso anejo, dry feta or Parmesan cheese, see note
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon baking power
1 chorizo sausage, about 7 ounces, casing removed, see note
4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
4 radishes, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1. Place poblanos over a gas flame or 4 inches below a very hot broiler until blackened on all sides, about 5 minutes for open flame or 10 minutes for broiler. Cover with a kitchen towel; let stand 5 minutes. Peel. Pull out stem; seed. Rinse lightly to remove bits of skin or seeds. Slice into 1/4-inch strips. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of the oregano and thyme; cook 1 minute. Stir in poblanos. Season with a dash of the salt; cool.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. For cazuelitas, combine the masa with the lard, 1/2 cup of the Chihuahua cheese, queso anejo, egg yolk, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt in a large bowl. Mix together with your hands until a smooth, soft dough is formed, about 5 minutes. Divide into 8 balls. Flatten each with your fingers into a 3-inch disc with raised edges. Place on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet; bake in upper third of oven until barely set and just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly; pinch a 1/2-inch high border of the still-soft masa around the edge of each. Press down centers to flatten evenly.
3. Combine the poblano strips with the remaining 1 cup Chihuahua cheese; divide among the cazuelitas. Bake until cheese melts, about 10 minutes. Cook the chorizo in a skillet over medium heat, breaking up any lumps, until thoroughly cooked, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
4. Toss the lettuce with the radishes, vinegar and a little salt. Divide among serving plates. Set the cazuelitas on the lettuce; top with a spoonful of chorizo.
Note: Look for queso anejo (dry, aged cheese) and chorizo sausages in some supermarkets or Mexican markets.
Nutrition information per serving:
375 calories, 56% calories from fat, 24 g fat, 10 g saturated fat, 75 mg cholesterol, 720 mg sodium, 15 g protein, 27 g carbohydrate, 3.5 g fiber
Enchiladas El Popo
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
When we visited El Popocatepetl tortilleria on 21st Street, owner Ernesto Avina offered this suggestion for enjoying the red tortillas that are flavored with guajillo chilies. Any flavored tortillas also can be used in this recipe.
1 jar (16 ounces) prepared tomato salsa
Olive oil
12 chili-flavored tortillas
2 potatoes, peeled, cooked, diced
1 chorizo sausage, about 7 ounces, crumbled, fried, drained
1 cup shredded Chihuahua cheese
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread 1/2 of the jar of salsa on bottom of greased 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat; add tortillas in batches. Warm about 20 to 30 seconds per side, turning once. Keep warm.
2. Mix diced potatoes and crumbled chorizo in a medium bowl. Spoon the mixture down the center of each heated tortilla; roll up. Arrange rolled up tortillas, seam side down, in prepared baking dish. Spoon remaining salsa over the top. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Heat until hot and cheese is melted, 20 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving:
570 calories, 38% calories from fat, 25 g fat, 10 g saturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 1,350 mg sodium, 23 g protein, 66 g carbohydrate, 2.2 g fiber
Tortilla ‘dry soup’ (Sopa seca de tortilla)
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Berta Navarro, co-owner of Cafe 28, remembers having this casserole dish often while she was growing up in Guadalajara. Serve it hot from the oven as a first course or side dish.
10 thin corn tortillas
1/2 cup corn or canola oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 can (16 ounces) whole tomatoes
1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
1/2 cup coarsely chopped green onion tops
6 leaves epazote, see note
1/4teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups queso fresco, see note
6 to 8 mint leaves, coarsely chopped
1. Preferably a day ahead, cut the tortillas into strips about 3/4-inch long; spread out on a countertop to dry. (This process can be speeded up by laying them on a baking sheet and placing them in a 300-degree oven to crisp, about 10 minutes.)
2. Heat oil in a skillet until hot. Add tortilla strips; fry in batches, tossing gently with a slotted spatula until crisp and lightly golden on both sides, about 2 minutes. Transfer strips to absorbent paper to drain. Set aside the skillet with its oil. Place tortilla strips in buttered 13-by-9-inch baking pan.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the tomatoes, chicken broth, green onion and epazote in a blender container. Blend until smooth. Strain. Heat the reserved oil in the skillet over medium heat until hot. Add sauce; heat through. Reduce heat; simmer until slightly thick, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream. Return; heat through, but do not boil. Pour mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle queso fresco and mint on top. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes.
Note: Look for queso fresco, a fresh white cheese, and fresh epazote in Mexican markets. Dried epazote can be used in a pinch; use 1/4 teaspoon for this recipe.
Nutrition information per serving:
335 calories, 63% calories from fat, 24 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 470 mg sodium, 10 g protein, 21 g carbohydrate, 2.5 g fiber
Mushroom quesadillas
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 6 minutes per batch
Yield: 12 quesadillas, 4 servings
This recipe, adapted from “Feasts of Life,” by Patricia Quintana, suggests cooking these tortilla foldovers on a griddle or by deep-frying. We have opted for the griddle and also offer several of Quintana’s suggested fillings, each of which makes about 12 quesadillas.
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening or oil
1 pound mushrooms, chopped
7 green onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 fresh serranos or 1 jalapeno chili, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white wine
12 to 15 freshly made corn tortillas, about 6 inches in diameter
Salsa of your choice
1. Heat shortening in a large skillet. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add onions, garlic, chilies and salt. Cook 1 minute. Add wine; cook until moisture has evaporated, about 1 minute. Set aside.
2. Heat a heavy skillet or griddle. Place 1 or 2 tortillas in skillet; warm on one side. Turn and warm other side. (Or heat directly over a low flame on a gas stove; turn with tongs.) Spoon about 3 tablespoons filling onto each tortilla. Fold over, pressing down lightly to close. Return to hot skillet; cook until quesadilla is heated through. Remove to platter; keep warm. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Serve with salsa.
Filling variations:
Cheese and onion: Combine 2 cups mozzarella, Monterey jack or other mild cheese, 3 tablespoons chopped white onion and 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro or epazote. (Look for the herb epazote in Mexican markets.)
Shredded beef: Combine 1 pound cooked, shredded skirt steak with 1 cup chopped onion and 2 chopped serrano chilies.
Nutrition information per serving (mushroom):
280 calories, 27% calories from fat, 9 g fat, 2.6 g saturated fat, 4 mg cholesterol, 425 mg sodium, 9 g protein, 45 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber
Tortillas layered with green salsa (Chilaquiles verdes)
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Restaurateur Gloria Duarte serves this version for brunch at Las Bellas Artes, her Elmhurst eatery. Some cooks in Mexico layer in shredded, cooked chicken; others garnish with rings of white onion.
16 tomatillos, husked, washed, quartered, see note
3 jalapenos, seeded, chopped
1 quart water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
12 corn tortillas, 6 inches in diameter, cut into eighths
2 cups Chihuahua cheese, shredded
Sour cream
1. Place tomatillos, jalapenos and water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat 10 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon to blender container. Add 1/2 cup of the cooking water; puree. Season with salt.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in large skillet; add some of the tortillas. Fry until crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining oil and tortillas. Place half the fried tortillas in a greased 8-inch-square baking dish. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the tortillas. Add enough sauce to moisten. Add another layer of tortillas; moisten with sauce. Top with remaining cheese. Bake until hot throughout and the sauce has reduced, about 10 minutes. Top with dollops of sour cream.
Note: Look for tomatillos (small green tomato-like fruit) in supermarkets or Mexican markets.
Nutrition information per serving:
280 calories, 53% calories from fat, 17 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 680 mg sodium, 9 g protein, 25 g carbohydrate, 3.3 g fiber
