Por Fin, estoy aqui! Tortilla obsession.

Hello All, I have made my way south to my beloved Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. I was surprised to find wireless internet in my bungalow so I will be able to make lots of updates here! I'll post some pictures later. I spent the evening with my friends having a focused lesson in the fine art of making nixtamal for tortillas.

Nixtamal is the preparation of the dry corn with cal/ lime rock that breaks down the outer skin of the corn makes the proteins digestible. Tortillas are the life blood of the Maya, and learning to prepare them at home has become my mission. I made several vain attempts last year. Usually the daughters work along side Mother and learn all the nuance of the operation. And so I have become the old daughter of my friend Otilia to learn as best I can.

There are many different types of dry corn, which I will delve into after I get some new pictures at the Solola market. The corn also varies from year to year as the growing seasons change. There are differences in the strength and purity of the cal. Then there is the cooking on a wood fire which varies according to types of wood and the levels of heat! Muy complicado.

This year was a very bad growing season. It was extremely dry at the early stage of growing the corn. My friend Miguel is using very old seed stock that has come down through his family, this corn takes almost 9 months to mature but it is very strong and resilient. Many other farmers had modernized for varieties that mature closer to 6 months, but therein lies the problem. This newer corn needs to sprout and grow very quickly in order to produce full corn, because it was so dry a large amount of the corn fields died. The ancient types can struggle along slowly, slowly until the weather cooperates and then it flourishes. This corn problem will cause difficulty this year for the people here eat tortillas 3 times a day, and sometimes tortillas are all you have for a meal. The corn prices are going up and it will be a challenge until the next planting season.

Stay tuned for nixtamal and the mercado!