Keeping the tradition of corn tortillas through nixtamalization

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Tortillas are fundamental in Mexican and other Latin American cuisine, but behind that little corn tortilla is a rich history that a tortilla company in Madison has the mission of maintaining and educating people on.

La Cosecha Tortilla Company dedicates itself to making tortillas the traditional way used by the Aztecs that dates back to thousands of years known as nixtamalization.

"What it means to me is it means that I am actively participating in preserving an ancient tradition that has been dying out for a long time," said Jonathan Correa, owner of La Cosecha Tortilleria Company.

Correa says he was inspired to bring this tradition to Madison after seeing a lack of businesses offering nixtamal tortillas and wanting to connect more with his culture and heritage.

"I felt like I grew up lacking in those areas and as a cook, we express ourselves through food. I thought what better way to do that than through the foundational food of Mexican cuisine and that is fresh nixtamalized corn," said Correa.

Corn being one of the main ingredients in a nixtamal tortilla, was a crop that was vital to the indigenous people of Mexico.

"In Mexico, traditionally they worshiped corn as a god or goddess as something that gave them sustenance and gave them the ability to survive for thousands of years," said Correa.

Nixtamalization involves the technique of cooking dried corn in an alkaline solution of limestone water known as cal, which helps break down toxins and increases the nutrients of the corn.

The nixtamalization process also loosens the outer kernel of the corn, to make it more digestible.

"This process is what softens the corn and allows it to be able to be turned into this flexible dough," said Correa.

The corn, which is locally and regionally sourced, gets grinded to make the masa with a molino of volcanic stone.

Once the masa is ready, it's pressed, shaped, then cooked, cooled and ready to enjoy!

"You're able to taste the corn more and cal also adds a unique flavor to the corn as well," said Correa.

Correa says he doesn't add preservatives or coloring to his nixtamal tortillas to keep them as fresh and authentic as possible.

He offers the tortillas in white, yellow and blue corn and sometimes explores with other flavors like beets, cilantro, chiles, and more. He also sells homemade salsas and nixtamal corn chips.

Correa says nothing beats seeing people's reaction from trying the nixtamal tortillas.

"People who are not familiar with them, they're really blown away because they're used to these corn industrially-produced tortillas that have off flavors, or just fall apart on them," said Correa.

Food has the ability to bring us back home to our roots and culture. This is Correa's way of giving people a piece of "home" who grew up with these tortillas.

"It just means a lot that I'm able to give people those moments. Give them help and help them connect back to where they come from,'" said Correa.

It's also a way to educate others on this tradition that makes tortillas the staple they are today.

"The really interesting thing about this technique is if it wasn't discovered, my ancestor wouldn't have been able to survive or our ancestors wouldn't be able to survive over thousands of the years as resilient as they are," said Correa.

To learn more about la Cosecha Tortilla Company, click here.

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