Maize in Mexican cooking: far more than tortillas

Without maize there is no country

In Mexico there is a saying that sums up our relationship with this grain: “sin maíz no hay país” (without maize there is no country). It is no exaggeration. Maize is not just a food in Mexico: it is identity, culture, history and spirituality. According to the Popol Vuh, the sacred Maya book, the gods created humankind from maize. We Mexicans literally consider ourselves people of maize.

And yet, outside Mexico, maize is associated almost exclusively with tortillas. The reality is that Mexican maize has dozens of culinary uses, from ancestral drinks to refined puddings, from comforting soups to street snacks.

The varieties of Mexican maize

Mexico is the center of origin of maize. While the rest of the world grows 2 or 3 commercial varieties, in Mexico there are more than 60 native races of maize, each with unique characteristics:

• White maize: the most common, used for tortillas and tamales
• Blue maize: with anthocyanins that give it its color and an earthier flavor. Used for blue tortillas, tlacoyos and atole
• Red maize: less common, used in some regions for pinole and ceremonial atoles
• Cacahuacintle maize: with a large, mealy grain, it is the maize of pozole
• Popping maize: the popcorn maize, with a native Mexican variety different from the commercial one
• Black maize: used in Oaxaca for black tortillas and in central Mexico for huitlacoche

Nixtamalization: the Mexican food revolution

Raw maize has a problem: niacin (vitamin B3) is locked in and the body cannot absorb it. The Mesoamerican peoples discovered, more than 3,500 years ago, a process that solved this: nixtamalization.

The process consists of cooking the maize with lime (calcium hydroxide), letting it rest overnight, washing it and grinding it. This process releases the niacin, increases the bioavailability of calcium, improves the texture of the dough and gives it that characteristic flavor we recognize in a good tortilla.

Without nixtamalization, the civilisations that adopted maize but not the process (as in the southern United States and parts of Europe) suffered epidemics of pellagra, a disease caused by niacin deficiency.

Beyond the tortilla: uses of maize in Mexican cooking

Tamales

Tamales are nixtamalized maize dough filled with various stews, wrapped in corn or banana leaf and steamed. Each region has its own tamales: mole in Puebla and Oaxaca, sweetcorn in Michoacán, chipilín in Chiapas, or the enormous zacahuiles of the Huasteca. On our blog we have explored the regional tamales of Mexico.

Atole and champurrado

Atole is a thick hot drink made with maize dough dissolved in water or milk, sweetened and flavored. Champurrado is the version with chocolate. They are the drinks that accompany tamales on cold mornings and at celebrations.

In the US, champurrado is perfect for winter: it is comforting, substantial and easy to make with masa harina and Mexican table chocolate.

Elotes and esquites

The elote is a corn cob grilled or boiled, smeared with mayonnaise, sprinkled with chile piquín and cotija cheese, and bathed in lime. Esquites are the corn kernels cooked in a broth with epazote, served in a cup with the same toppings.

Both are emblematic street food and absolutely addictive. In the US, you can make them with fresh cobs in summer or with canned sweetcorn (drained and sautéed) at any time of year.

Pozole

Pozole uses cacahuacintle maize, a large-grained maize that is nixtamalized and cooked until it “flowers” (opens like popcorn). Combined with pork or chicken and a red or green salsa, it is one of the most emblematic dishes in Mexico.

Tlacoyos and gorditas

Tlacoyos are oval-shaped maize dough, filled with beans, curd cheese or pressed chicharrón, cooked on a comal. Gorditas are thick tortillas that are split open to be filled. They are pure pre-Hispanic food that has survived millennia.

Sopes and huaraches

Sopes are thick tortillas with a pinched rim that forms an edible plate. Huaraches have an elongated shape. Both are topped with beans, meat, salsa, cream and cheese.

Pinole

Pinole is toasted, ground maize mixed with cinnamon, piloncillo and sometimes cacao. The Tarahumara, the legendary runners of northern Mexico, use pinole as an energy food during their ultramarathons.

Huitlacoche

Huitlacoche is a fungus that grows on corn cobs. What is considered a pest in other countries is, in Mexico, a delicacy called “the Mexican truffle”. Its flavor is earthy, smoky and umami, and it is used in quesadillas, soups, tamales and gourmet dishes.

Maize in drinks

As well as atole and champurrado, maize is used in:

• Tejuino: a fermented drink of sprouted maize, popular in Jalisco
• Pozol: fermented maize dough dissolved in water, an ancestral drink of Chiapas
• Téjate: an Oaxacan drink of maize, cacao, mamey stone and cacao flower

Maize and the milpa

In Mexico, maize is not grown alone: it is grown in a milpa, a pre-Hispanic agricultural system where maize grows together with beans and squash. This trio, “the three sisters”, is a brilliant cropping system where each plant benefits the others.

It is no coincidence that the basis of the Mexican diet is maize + beans + squash: the milpa unites them from agriculture to table.

How to use Mexican maize in the US

In the US you can find:

• Masa harina: in Mexican shops and online
• Pozole maize: canned or dried in specialist shops
• Corn tortillas: in larger supermarkets and Mexican shops
• Blue maize: harder to find, but available online

Maize is the thread that ties together all of Mexican cooking. To understand it is to understand Mexico. Explore our recipes to put this knowledge into practice and discover more about Mexican ingredients in our complete guide.