I have just returned from Mexico. Â It took me 15 minutes to get home. Â Let me explain.
La Tortilleria is a tiny, authentic tortilla factory in an industrial part of Kensington. Â It’s owned and run by the lovely Gerardo and Diana, who are passionate about the real way to make tortillas – from wholegrain corn rather than corn flour. Â Diana knows what she’s doing – she’s previously worked in a tortilleria in Mexico.
The way to make real tortillas is called nixtamal and, save for the machinery involved, hasn’t changed since Aztec times. Â Most modern tortillerias (and according to Diana, all other tortillerias in Melbourne) use processed flour, which is kind of like using instant coffee powder to make coffee. Â At La Tortilleria, the process starts the night before with non-GMO Australian corn that’s soaked in a calcium solution. Â This helps the corn to release nutrients such as niacin (vitamin B3) and become more digestible.
The next morning it’s ground in a stone grinder to create the masa or dough.  Other tortillerias start here, by mixing the prepared corn flour with water.  As I understood it, that’s like instant coffee made with coffee powder…versus using freshly-ground beans and the resultant shot that’s just streets ahead.  It also means that La Tortilleria’s tortillas are 100% preservative and additive free.
Read more:Â www.footscrayfoodblog.blogspot.com.au