Tortilleria

Did you know that you have options when buying tortillas?  Of course, you’ll want to buy them from a tortilleria rather than from the cooler in the aisle at Bodega because they just taste better. But, a true tortillas connoisseur is even more selective when it comes to the staple food product of Mexico.

Tortillas de prensa are hand pressed tortillas. As you can see on the sign above, this establishment also sells taco tortillas which are smaller than regular tortillas, large huarache tortillas, sopes which are smaller, fatter tortillas with a lip to keep food on top, gorditas, which are smaller, fatter tortillas meant to be sliced open and stuffed, and tostadas (toasted tortillas).  Ladies who run tortillerias de prensa are also your best bet to order corundas (triangle shaped tamales) and tamales in large batches.

My sister-in-law makes tortillas de prensa. Actually two of my sister-in-laws make tortillas, but one makes much better tortillas than the other. My husband’s aunts also make tortillas. They have one of their children delivery tortillas to homes all around town by bike.  I’ve seen tortillas motorcycle delivery in small towns as well.

If you don’t have a tortilleria in your immediate area, look for a table and scale set out in front of a house.  Tortillas de prensa are sold there!

This tortilleria de prensa also offers totopos which are fried tortillas chips.

 

This is a tortilleria that provides tortillas that come out on conveyor belts. You’ll know if you hear a constant squeaking sound from within. More often, men are in charge of these tortillerias. If you look to the left in the back you can just see a milling machine.  Most of the ladies who make tortillas de prensa bring their nixtamal (corn and lime mixture) here in the wee hours of the morning to have it ground. These would be the ladies you see with two or three paint buckets on a handcart.  Each tortilleria has a slightly different way to make tortillas and you may have to try a few in order to see which place you like the best.

This tortilleria has specialty tortillas, de harina (flour), integral (wheat), de nopal (cactus), de chipotle, and tortillas for buñuelos which are huge and served fried with honey.  Tortillas here will cost more than regular old tortillas de maiz.

In our area, the current price for tortillas de prensa is 16 pesos per kilo. Tortillas from the conveyor belt stores are 14 pesos per kilo. Flour tortillas are 22 pesos per kilo. Some tortillerias will knock a peso or so off the price if you bring your own napkin to wrap them in.  Others won’t. You can buy a certain amount rather than kilo, say 10 pesos worth. Considering when we moved here, a kilo of tortillas was 6 pesos, every little bit of savings helps.

Where do you get your tortillas? How much do they cost?