The importance of corn in Mexican food dates back centuries, thousands of years even, when the groups of hunter-gatherers inhabitants of these lands began to domesticate the corn seed until they reached the shape of the cob we know today.
We are talking about 9000 years ago when the domestication of teocintle occurred, the wild plant that gave rise to our delicious corn.
In order for tortillas to reach our tables, they have to go through a whole process of elaboration. Before the invention of the tortilla-making machine all the tortillas consumed in our country were made by hand.
Today, they are made with the machine, by hand with the dough already nixtamalized in the tortilla press and, in some regions, they are still elaborated according to the practices of our indigenous ancestors.
To instill curiosity in children, as well as their interest in experiencing it first hand, we visited a tortilleria. This activity is part of the methods Ameyali uses to contribute to the integral development of the students and to live a transversal experience.
Do you know what is the origin of the tortilla-making machine?
It was invented by genius Mexican minds and hands. The machine started out in 1904, when Everardo Rodríguez and Luis Romero invented an apparatus consisting of laminated rollers and a conveyor that reached a comal.
Although, the tortillas we know are round, in the beginning that invention would make square tortillas!
To achieve the round shaped tortillas, a special attachment had to be adapted to the machine. Can you imagine, a taco with a square tortilla?
Years later, in 1947, Mexican Fausto Celorio invented the first automatic machine, which reproduced the traditional cooking of tortillas. It could work by itself, without the intervention of an operator. Fausto Celorio continued with the improvement of the machine over several decades to produce the largest number of tortillas.
So, every time you have a tortilla in your hands, you actually have a bit of history, and very tasty by the way.
Come to Ameyali Puerto Vallarta School and learn about our methodology and curriculum, as well as the diversity of activities that enrich and complement the integral education of your children!