To get to grips with the art of true Mexican cuisine, you need to know your Masa from your Milpa.
This might sound like something you study in chemistry class, but it’s actually an ancient method of cooking corn by soaking it and cooking it in an alkaline solution. The process improves the nutritional value of the corn seed, makes it digestible (for humans) and brings out its flavour.
corn
Corn that is non-hybrid (naturally pollinated) and non-GMO (naturally grown rather than genetically modified). Mexico produces more than 60 varieties of corn of different sizes and colours known today as ‘heritage’ or ‘heirloom’ corn. Not the kind of heirloom you can take to an Antiques Roadshow but beautiful, nonetheless.
Corn
When the corn seeds come from a specific region of Mexico, as opposed to corn that is sourced from multiple locations. It makes a more nuanced and deeply flavoured tortilla, which is why we use it.
A milpa is a field designed for growing food crops and a crop-growing system used throughout Mesoamerica. Imagine planting a field with all your favourite foods – tasty corn, delicious beans, and earthy squash. Instead of just planting them in rows, you put them all together in a big, colourful mix. The combination of those three seeds gives the nutrients back to the soil, as well as provides all the nutrients needed for a healthy human diet. Happy people, happy soil, happy planet.
This refers to the process of grinding corn using a volcanic stone mill. Using this method means that some of the hull and germ of the kernel are retained and make for a more nutritious crop. We lava it.
A masa mill that specialises in the production of masa, the fine dough that you make tortillas from. A little bit of masa goes a long way. Where there’s a mill there’s a way.
An industrial farming technique based on growing only one type of a crop at one time on a specific field – it is often used to produce modern hybridized corn. This system is endangering the sustainable farming system of the Milpa, the lives of the local communities and the health of our planet. As you might be able to tell, we’re not big fans.
farming
When farmers rebuild and regenerate the health of the soil they are farming on, while also improving the quality of water and biodiversity through sustainable farming practices. Great for people and even greater for the planet.
This might sound like something you study in chemistry class, but it’s actually an ancient method of cooking corn by soaking it and cooking it in an alkaline solution. The process improves the nutritional value of the corn seed, makes it digestible (for humans) and brings out its flavour.
corn
Corn that is non-hybrid (naturally pollinated) and non-GMO (naturally grown rather than genetically modified). Mexico produces more than 60 varieties of corn of different sizes and colours known today as ‘heritage’ or ‘heirloom’ corn. Not the kind of heirloom you can take to an Antiques Roadshow but beautiful, nonetheless.
Corn
When the corn seeds come from a specific region of Mexico, as opposed to corn that is sourced from multiple locations. It makes a more nuanced and deeply flavoured tortilla, which is why we use it.
A milpa is a field designed for growing food crops and a crop-growing system used throughout Mesoamerica. Imagine planting a field with all your favourite foods – tasty corn, delicious beans, and earthy squash. Instead of just planting them in rows, you put them all together in a big, colourful mix. The combination of those three seeds gives the nutrients back to the soil, as well as provides all the nutrients needed for a healthy human diet. Happy people, happy soil, happy planet.
This refers to the process of grinding corn using a volcanic stone mill. Using this method means that some of the hull and germ of the kernel are retained and make for a more nutritious crop. We lava it.
A masa mill that specialises in the production of masa, the fine dough that you make tortillas from. A little bit of masa goes a long way. Where there’s a mill there’s a way.
An industrial farming technique based on growing only one type of a crop at one time on a specific field – it is often used to produce modern hybridized corn. This system is endangering the sustainable farming system of the Milpa, the lives of the local communities and the health of our planet. As you might be able to tell, we’re not big fans.
farming
When farmers rebuild and regenerate the health of the soil they are farming on, while also improving the quality of water and biodiversity through sustainable farming practices. Great for people and even greater for the planet.