With my waste-free challenge, one thing I’ve been really missing are nachos. But all of the tortilla chips come in disposable bags. So I decide to make my own. I did a little research… They are made by frying tortillas, simple enough. But all of the tortillas come in bags as well. So I have to make my own tortillas. Luckily, it’s easy to do.
It starts with corn kernels that have been cooked in water with calcium carbonate (lime) and then ground into a flour. The process, called nixtamalization, makes the corn more nutritious by freeing niacin and tryptophan, absorbing calcium from the lime, and balances out amino acids that makes the protein more accessible (from what I read anyways. I don’t know anything about chemistry, but there is some very interesting history behind this). The end product is called masa harina.
On my way home from work one day I picked up a tortilla press ($26) and a bag of masa ($6) at a Latin American store. I was all set.
First, to the waste: The plastic wrapper from the press is garbage, so I’m stuck with it. The paper bag is compostable, and I’ll burn the cardboard label from the press at the cottage.
Making the tortillas is super easy. Just mix the harina with water, form a small ball, put it in the press, clamp down, and then you get a nice round tortilla. You can cut each tortilla into 6 chips. It helps to line the sides of the press with parchment paper to prevent the tortilla from sticking.
Next toss the chips into the pan to fry with oil
The finished product is delicious with hot sauce. Thicker than packaged chips, more like a cracker. But crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, delectable corny flavor. I experimented with rolling out the tortillas thinner by using a rolling pin (with parchment paper to keep it from sticking) and the thinner ones were a bit crispier.
I think that the thicker, more flavorful chips are better for nachos, to balance of the toppings. They are more substantial.
Producing these from scratch will allow me to mix in my own flavorings like pepper, chilli powder, lime, cilantro, hemp hearts, caraway seeds etc.
One $6 bag of masa will make 8 pounds of tortillas, so it’s very economical. Another example of how minimizing waste intersects nicely with living more frugally, and more deliciously. I think that the tortillas are more healthy too, since they are basically just corn made more nutricious, water, and oil (they could be baked too instead of fried, but what’s the fun in that).
I wrote up this post from a series of tweets I sent out while making the tortillas. Follow me on twitter to get all the latest.