Maize, aka corn, is one of the most vital grains in the world.
Its use is versatile and one of the main reasons why it’s the 2nd most important crop in the world.
Indigenous cultivators in the regions of (now) Mexico and Central America domesticated corn from its ancestral grain, Teosinte, more than 9,000 years ago.
It is a foundational pillar of Mexican gastronomy.
From it, comes not just Mexican favorites, but what are now American staples such as tortillas and totopos (corn chips) to name a few.
My hope is that the Mexican heirloom corn comeback this article highlights is not just a trend, but the future.
Anyone that seeks Mexican heirloom corn understands its environmental and nutritional benefits.
Especially when it’s prepared via-Mesoamerican traditions like nixtamalization.
Y’all, let me tell you.
You will never want to eat a tortilla that is made from mass produced, genetically modified corn the moment you taste a nixtamalized produced tortilla made from heirloom corn.
The smell.
The taste.
Everything about it is superior.
I’m happy to see that our human desire for nutritional, great tasting food is coming full-circle, regardless of how small that desire may be.
If you’re a tamalero, tortillero or Mexican food lover like me, please support businesses that focus on making heirloom corn-based products when you can.
These businesses support small-batch farmers who have cultivated heirloom varieties for generations.
They are farmers who understand the true value of wealth, as stated in this article:
“We’re not going to become millionaires, but I think that wealth isn’t so much found in the economic as in nutrition and in what we leave for those who come after us.”
Credit: Featured Photo by Sunira Moses on Unsplash