Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Corn in Mexican Cuisine
Corn is not anything new to you; this vegetable (actually a grain, though it is often used as if it were a vegetable) is a common sight on American tables. While corn is common here, it has a central place in Mexican cuisine, where you’ll find it in soups, salads, salsas and ground into flour to make tamales and of course, tortillas. It is one of the most common ingredients in many quick Mexican recipes.
This grain has been a staple food in Mexico since long before the arrival of Europeans on the continent. Used to make flour for tortillas, tamales and a variety of other dishes, corn was already central to Mexican cooking centuries, if not millennia before the Spanish came over in search of gold. The corn-based flatbreads acquired the name “tortillas” upon the Spanish conquest of what is now Mexico, after the Spanish word for “little cakes” (a name also given to omelets in Spain).
Tortillas are well known in the US. Even though flour tortillas are more widely available than are corn tortillas, you can now find corn tortillas at most groceries and these more flavorful tortillas are catching on with the public. It is understandable; if you have ever made tacos using soft, warm corn tortillas, you know that there is no comparison between these and flour tortillas.
Tamales are a traditional Mexican comfort food, which you may see, served at any meal; these are made from corn flour dough (called masa in Spanish) which may be filled with meats, cheeses, vegetables, or even fruit! There are even sweetened tamales, which make a great breakfast or dessert served with coffee or hot chocolate.
It takes some doing to make your own tamales at home, but nothing can beat a fresh homemade tamale’s flavor. It is certain to impress your guests if you are up for a few hours in the kitchen, making (and eating) your own tamales can be a very rewarding experience.
Corn is sometimes used in salsas, where its flavor blends perfectly with tomatoes, herbs, and peppers. One common combination is black beans and corn, which makes a very satisfying salsa; you might have even seen some of these salsas at your local grocery store. Corn salsas are great with tortilla chips and wonderful with a taco (made with a warm corn tortilla, of course) or tamale.
There are also some Mexican soup recipes, which feature corn. One of the most popular Mexican soups, which showcases corn, is pozole. This is a spicy, delicious soup traditionally made with hominy, pork, and hot peppers. The combination of the corn’s earthy sweetness with the meat and the kick of the chilies is a wonderful one and you can easily make a meal from a bowl of this substantial soup.
You may even be lucky enough to have a restaurant which specializes in this Mexican corn soup near you (these restaurants are known as pozolerias) if you live in a location where there is a large Mexican immigrant community. However, it is also pretty easy to make your own. It is a great change of pace when you are looking for a warming soup in the fall or winter and it just may become a family favorite.
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