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The Perfect Tortilla
By Meredith Arthur, Eric Slatkin, and Blake Smith
Evan Kleiman, host of the KCRW radio program Good Food, grew up eating tortillas in LA. She describes the moment when she came across the perfect tortilla, made by Rivera Restaurant chef John Rivera Sedlar. His tortillas are special not only for their beauty, but also for the great care that Sedlar takes with every step of the preparation. You don’t get tortillas like this at the store; you don’t even get homemade tortillas like this, says Kleiman.
@ mirilara: That sounds wonderful. an you share a bit more information? Like, where, when and how much it costs?
Thanks so much
Carolina
As ksprmx says, a real tortilla does puff up --it is not only something that happens sometimes, it is an important piece of the process that allows the tortilla to cook through and not be like a tamal, which these flower tortillas look like. And absolutely no fat for cooking. Finally, a perfect tortilla, hand made in a comal has two sides, one that is wrinkly (inside) and one that's smoother...+READ
As ksprmx says, a real tortilla does puff up --it is not only something that happens sometimes, it is an important piece of the process that allows the tortilla to cook through and not be like a tamal, which these flower tortillas look like. And absolutely no fat for cooking. Finally, a perfect tortilla, hand made in a comal has two sides, one that is wrinkly (inside) and one that's smoother (outside). On a tangent, a group of tortilleras (women who make tortillas and sell them from home to home) in my hometown in Mexico is trying to set up a collective that invites people to visit and learn how to make real tortillas from the grinding of the corn to the way they are packed in the weaved baskets so that the are piping hot even hours after they were made --ohhh so excited to be heading down there to eat, eat, eat, eat the best tortillas.-COLLAPSE
PS: You can look at the video at 0:52, and that's when he mentions the cooking procedure. He does specify 'lime' and its Mexican name.
Actually, if you go back and watch again, they DO boil the corn with the lime. They just don't show the entire procedure, but it IS mentioned. (I think they wanted to try to keep some 'secrets' to themselves)
Hello I'm mexican, I live in Mexico and I have eaten tortillas since i was a baby. I must disagree about the "perfect tortilla". Actually the corn he shows it`s the correct one but the cooking in water it`s not. Why? you must wonder, well I`ll tell you. For making the "masa" (dough) we need to tenderize those corn grains and we do it with a procedure called "nixtamal" this word comes from the...+READ
Hello I'm mexican, I live in Mexico and I have eaten tortillas since i was a baby. I must disagree about the "perfect tortilla". Actually the corn he shows it`s the correct one but the cooking in water it`s not. Why? you must wonder, well I`ll tell you. For making the "masa" (dough) we need to tenderize those corn grains and we do it with a procedure called "nixtamal" this word comes from the ancient mexican language "nahuatl"and means: "nextli" (lime-hydroxide of calcium- ashes) and "tamalli" (cooked corn). So the corn is cooked in water with a portion of hidroxyde of calcium (we call it just CAL). This calcium gives an earthy flavor to the tortillas and it also contributes to the nutrition. You have to boil water with "cal" and then put in the corn grains, once it's cooked let it rest overnight so the grains start to peel and "pop". Then rinse the excess of "cal" and grind it. Now you have the "masa" it doesn`t need any salt or anything else. Just shape it and cook it, normally tortillas when are about to be ready they start to inflate themselves like pillows. I didn´nt see those inflate. And we don´t cook them with any oil or lard, if you use any of those you preparing some other dishe but not tortilla. it´s just the heat over a flat hot iron (comal). Ohh by the way 1 kg of tortilla in Mexico it`s sell for about $ 1.00 dollar.
Thank you, I hope I made this clear for you.-COLLAPSE
Rather than wondering why not just check? It's $7 for an order of the tortillas florales.
I liked this as well. Now, if I could only get hold of some of that corn, and get the rest of the recipe, I would try to replicate them at home, as I'm unlikely to ever get to go to that restaurant.
I am thankful to Chow for showiing me something new and interesting......taking the traditional & "dressing" it up a bit. That being said, after reading all the comments, some of you need to grab your own tortillas, fill them with sugar or honey, and devour them ASAP.........and be thankful!
with all due respect toodie, when a person describes the tortilla crumbling or flaky whether it is in your mouth or visually: It is identifiied as a hard shell. None of the tortillas that I have eaten are flakey nor do they crumble in my mouth or hand. As I mentioned earlier all the tortillas are soft and easy to handle. Of course, i have also tasted some tortillas that are better than other...+READ
with all due respect toodie, when a person describes the tortilla crumbling or flaky whether it is in your mouth or visually: It is identifiied as a hard shell. None of the tortillas that I have eaten are flakey nor do they crumble in my mouth or hand. As I mentioned earlier all the tortillas are soft and easy to handle. Of course, i have also tasted some tortillas that are better than other ones. But, this is due to the process, the chemicals, and or the type of corn that manufactuer or person uses to produce the tortilla.-COLLAPSE
madman, I think she was referring to mouthfeel in her description of "crumble" and "flakey" not what you'd feel in your hands with manual manipulation. It makes sense to me to describe it as a fabric-like sensation in the mouth.
Any tortilla fan knows, perfect tortillas are made with lard. Since that looks like a very fancy LA restaurant (where 3 tortillas probably cost $22), I'm doubting they have any lard on site. So ... although those things are pretty, they're not perfect tortillas.
Comparing a good tortilla to fabric is pretty right on...
I wonder what that plate of 3 tortillas and guacamole goes for at that resturante...$12.95 an order?
I really dont know what this lady in the film is talking about.
first, there are no flaky tortillas that crumble. all tortillas are flexible to be able to scoop just about any type of food in a plate.
second, if she lived in LA eating tortillas she most likely ate them when they were two or three weeks old that were left outside at room temperature.
Third, Chef Rivera did not discoverd...+READ
I really dont know what this lady in the film is talking about.
first, there are no flaky tortillas that crumble. all tortillas are flexible to be able to scoop just about any type of food in a plate.
second, if she lived in LA eating tortillas she most likely ate them when they were two or three weeks old that were left outside at room temperature.
Third, Chef Rivera did not discoverd anything new. He only apply a new concept that was used in the past as he mentioned during the film.-COLLAPSE
Hi Meowzebub,
I created a thread about your issue on our "Technical Issues" page--take a look! http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/651450
Good luck, Meredith
thanks vorpal, but I don't have Firefox, or to my knowledge any adblocker. but then, I'm a techno-novice, so maybe Windows has a built-in adblocker I can't find. wah!
meowzebub: I have the same problem. I'm using Firefox with Adblock Plus and have to turn off ABP temporarily to see these videos. They do start with about a 5-60 second advert at the beginning, unlike, say, the Chow Tip videos, so I'm assuming that that explains things.
Frankly, I just turn off my computer volume, go to a different tab in Firefox, and play around until the video is loaded and...+READ
meowzebub: I have the same problem. I'm using Firefox with Adblock Plus and have to turn off ABP temporarily to see these videos. They do start with about a 5-60 second advert at the beginning, unlike, say, the Chow Tip videos, so I'm assuming that that explains things.
Frankly, I just turn off my computer volume, go to a different tab in Firefox, and play around until the video is loaded and done. Then I rewind and rewatch. Gets me past the ads without having to hear / see them.-COLLAPSE
The "Perfect" videos won't play for me.
I have no problems with "Chow Tips" etc, but the "Perfect" series say its unavailable or blocked by an adblocker.
I don't understand, given that other Chow videos are readily viewable.
Wow