This tortilla has a unique flavor and production in New York. And the reason is its essence, the dough is made from different grains of “criollo” corn from various parts of Mexico.
“As that flavor that you miss from home he could not find here and it was that nostalgia that made him begin to get more into the world of corn and want to share the flavors of a tortilla and the corn that comes from the field,” said Diana Montaño, owner , About Mass.
Montaño is one of the owners of Sobre Masa, a new tortilla shop in Bushwick. The corn kernels are processed in a pot before grinding them into dough. The nixtamalization process and is what distinguishes this business.
“Nixtamal is when you cook the corn with water and lime and what makes lime is that it gives the dough that consistency and also makes it more nutritious,” explained Zack Wangeman, co-owner, Sobre Masa.
At the moment, they only sell tortillas to certain restaurants but in the next few days they will open their doors for retail sales.
“One of the differences of the nixtamalized dough with Creole corn is that it has that resistance in the texture, you can wrinkle it, make a ball and it does not break … It has a flavor a little sweeter on the palate. And nothing else is more present the taste of corn, “added Zack.
Torres.
–
Raúl Torres arrived in New York two weeks ago. She grew up in Puebla making tortillas by hand and today she is in charge of continuing to preserve this tradition.
“My mom grew up making tortillas, my grandmother taught her … It’s nostalgic but it’s also a bit of pride because I bring what I know from where I grew up to as far as New York is,” Torres said.
Sobre Masa sells 12 tortillas for five dollars, which is a higher price than in other tortillerías.
The owners buy the grain from a company that is committed to small farmers in the states of Mexico, Tlaxcala and Oaxaca. The idea is also to promote the product of these farmers.
“We want to promote the culture that corn has … Corn is like a main plant that distinguishes us as Mexicans,” Montaño said.
In the afternoons after five o’clock this business in Bushwick turns into a taquería so that the neighbors can taste different types of tortillas.
– .
