A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular

unleavened In cooking, a leavening agent () or raising agent, also called a leaven () or leavener, is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action (gas bubbles) that lightens and softens the mixture. An alterna ...

flatbread A flatbread is a bread made with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread. Flatbreads ran ...

originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The

Aztecs The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

and other

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

before colonization, tortillas are a cornerstone of Mesoamerican cuisine. Corn tortillas in Mesoamerica are known from as early as 500 BCE.

Varieties

Corn tortilla

Tortillas made from

nixtamalized Nixtamalization () is a process for the preparation of maize, corn, or other cereal grain, grain, in which the grain is soaked and cooking, cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater (but sometimes aqueous alkali metal carbonates), wash ...

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

meal—masa de maíz— are the oldest variety of tortilla. They originated in Mexico and Central America, and remain popular throughout the Americas. Peoples of the Oaxaca region in Mexico first made tortillas at the end of the Villa Stage (1500 to 500 BC). Towards the end of the 19th century, the first mechanical utensils for making tortillas, called tortilla presses, tortilleras, or tortilladoras, were invented and manufactured in Mexico.

Wheat tortilla

Europeans introduced

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

and its cultivation to the American continent, and it remains the source for wheat

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

tortillas. Wheat flour tortillas were originated in the northern region of Mexico. Wheat tortillas usually contain fats such as oil or lard, salt, often leavening agents such as baking powder, and other ingredients. Otherwise, the preparation and cooking of flour tortillas on a comal is identical to that of corn tortillas. Flour tortillas are commonly used in dishes like '' burritos'', '' tacos'', and '' fajitas''. It is part of the daily food repertoire throughout Mexico, whose gastronomy and culture has influenced those of many Central American countries and some states in the U.S.

Nopaltilla

A nopaltilla is a cactus-corn tortilla. The word is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsnopal'', Spanish for the '' Opuntia ficus-indica'' cactus, and tortilla.

References

{{reflist American cuisine Appetizers Flatbreads Belizean cuisine Guatemalan cuisine Honduran cuisine Mexican cuisine Salvadoran cuisine Costa Rican cuisine Mesoamerican cuisine Guamanian cuisine Spanish words and phrases Staple foods

Varieties

Corn tortilla

Wheat tortilla

Nopaltilla

See also

References