The next installment of CB Pantry Raid, a series in which our walk leaders give a guided tour of the local pantry and discuss the staples that have sustained their communities over the years, features Francisco de Santiago (“Paco”), our lead guide in Mexico City, who will be talking all about corn. Tune in on Thursday, April 30, at 5 p.m. EDT (GMT-4) on Instagram Live.
Corn is vital to Mexican cuisine and culture – one of the things we love most about dining in Mexico is the high likelihood that our meal will have a healthy dose of corn in one form or another. Sometimes we even wash down our corn with some corn, like when we order tamales, corn patties most often stuffed with meat or veggies and then steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf, together with atole, a traditional beverage made of corn flour, fruit, spices, and milk or water. Local, native corn varieties, which in recent years had been eclipsed by hybrid corns, are staging a comeback. Heirloom corn tortillas are growing increasingly popular in Mexico City (and even as far away as Queens, NY), providing a boon for small-scale farmers growing these native corn varieties.
To join the live video on Thursday, head to our Instagram account. When we’re live, the Culinary Backstreets profile picture will appear with a colorful ring around it and the word Live. Tap our profile picture to view the live video. When our live stream ends, the video will be available to watch on our Stories for 24 hours.
February 27, 2024 Building Blocks
Every time we travel outside of Oaxaca, we get something we call “the tortilla blues.” […] Posted in Oaxaca
January 8, 2024 Tamales de Tia Tila
It’s a cold December afternoon when we arrive at the headquarters of Tamales de Tia Tila […] Posted in Oaxaca
September 5, 2022 Expendio de Maiz
Tucked against the back wall of the Expendio de Maiz kitchen are three massive metal […] Posted in Mexico City
Published on April 28, 2020
Related stories
February 27, 2024
OaxacaEvery time we travel outside of Oaxaca, we get something we call “the tortilla blues.” Even if we move around inside of Mexico, particularly in the biggest cities, we cannot help missing the sweet aroma and feel of a warm tortilla almost melting in our hands. Sure, we might run into decadent tacos filled with…
January 8, 2024
OaxacaIt’s a cold December afternoon when we arrive at the headquarters of Tamales de Tia Tila in San Gabriel Etla, about 45 minutes outside of Oaxaca City. Knocking on the door, we catch a whiff of spices and corn that the cold wind quickly steals away. But as soon the door swings open, revealing a…
September 5, 2022
Mexico CityTucked against the back wall of the Expendio de Maiz kitchen are three massive metal pots. Containing cloudy mixtures of corn kernels and limestone water, they seem to sit unattended, when in fact intermittent yet constant attention is being paid to their progress. What is happening is one of the most ancient and important processes…
