Tortilleria El Paisano Corn Tortillas

[Joni63]

Hey all,

I have been eating these for a while now. The ingredients say: Stone ground whole kernal corn, water, monocalcium phosphate, sorbic acid.

They are made locally, but the mix is shipped to this company from out West. Anyone ever heard of these or tried them?

[mtraezme]

I haven't heard of them. I usually buy Maseca (the ground corn meal used to make masa) and make my own tortillas and gorditas and sopes and things.

Did you have any questions about them?

[Joni63]

Hi and yes I do have questions. I called the company that manufactures them to try and find out about cross contamination issues. They tell me they are made in a press that is only used for corn tortillas. I haven't seen any other tortillas made by them so I felt ok that they wouldn't be cross contaminated. I just didn't feel very secure that they totally understood what I was asking.

Also, I was told the ingredients are shipped to them as an already prepared mix and they just put them in the tortilla machines and make them. I guess I'm just curious about where the mix comes from and if they are safe foe me to eat. On the package it says Hecho in Mexico. I don't seem to have obvious reactions to cc and don't know what to do about eating these and if it is worth persueing any further.

What would you do? I could use some opinions. Thanks.

[mtraezme]

You're probably fine eating them. They have huge mills in Mexico where they prepare the corn meal and nothing else. Obviously it's a large business down there. The presses used to make corn tortillas and flour ones are different, so you really should be okay. And in my experience, I've only seen places that make flour on their tortilla machines or corn on their machines. It sounds like they should be pretty free from cross contamination. If you're still not sure, you could get the bags of masa and make your own tortillas. It's super easy and you just have to add water and a little salt to the mix. I can give you more info if you like on that.

Hope that clears it up a little for you,

Ezme

[Centa]

Thanks, Ezme

Without hearing directly from the producer of the corn flour, I was going to say probably everything's OK. But I was unsure about contamination at the point of making tortillas commercially

I couldn't remember ever seeing any wheat tortillas come out of those automatic tortilla-making machines, but I wasn't sure.

I looked up the process for making the masa, or corn flour for tortillas that Ezme's talking about, and it doesn't involve wheat at all, if that's a help.

Fresh homemade tortillas are delicious, and like Ezme says, you can make the corn flour into more than flat shapes. I remember some great little tortitas, like little boats or cups, filled with good things.

[Joni63]

Thank you so much! These are something I eat almost every day and they are so inexpensive. It's only 99 cents for about 30 of them, maybe more.

The ingredients say: Stone ground whole kernal corn, water, monocalcium phosphate, sorbic acid.

I would like to know how to make them if you are interested in posting it that would be great!

Thanks again!!!

[mtraezme]

You're welcome!

I searched around and found some sites that explain the basic tortilla making process. I'll post those links below. Basically, you need the corn meal, which you can usually buy near the flours or in the ethnic section of your supermarket, wax paper or Ziploc freezer bags, and a tortilla press or rolling pin. I have an aluminum tortilla press that works pretty well. They cost under ten dollars and and are usually sold at Wal-Mart and Mexican grocery stores.

I just mix the masa (corn meal) with water and a little salt until it's able to be shaped into a soft ball. If it cracks, I add more water and if it's sticky and gooey, I add more masa. You can add lard if you want, but I never have. I use a freezer bag that I've cut apart so I have two squares. I place one on the bottom of the tortilla press, put a ball of masa the size of a ping pong ball on top, then put the other plastic sheet on the ball and press with the tortilla press. The plastic keeps the dough from sticking to the metal. Then I transfer the tortilla to the hot comal or cast iron pan/griddle. To make a gordita, you use a little more dough to make a larger ball and pat it flat between your hands.

Helpful websites:

-making a tortilla and buying a press

Open Original Shared Link</a>

-somebody's grandma cooking lunch (lots of interesting pictures )

Open Original Shared Link</a>

-step-by-step pictures of making tortillas

Open Original Shared Link</a>

-sopes (these are great with shredded chicken, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and sour cream on top)

Open Original Shared Link</a>

Open Original Shared Link

-how to make tlacoyos (with pictures) (these are good and great for kids because they can hold them in their hands without getting messy) *you can heat them on the griddle or even warm them in the oven if you don't want to fry them

Open Original Shared Link</a>

-another look at tlacoyos with a different filling

Open Original Shared Link</a>

Anywoo, I'm obviously hungry by this point and am going to the kitchen to make some tlacoyos for my lunch since I have some cooked chicken and chiles in the fridge that would make great filling.

Let me know how everything turns out!

Ezme

[Joni63]

Awesome sites and pictures mtraezme!

It is funny because my mom just bought me a bag of masa yesterday. I can't wait to try these and I know my kids would love the tlacoyos with a bean and cheese filling.

I want to try the sopes loaded up with toppings, YUM!

I'm planning on trying it by hand at first and see how it works out for me, but the presses are so inexpensive I might just invest in one.

Thanks for the great information, you've been very helpful!