Itononi and the corn project

Corn is the most important food in Central America, I believe. It's been around longer than any other vegetable, other than chiles. The Spanish adopted it when they arrived in the 1500's, took it back to Europe, and from there it spread east. In return, the Spanish gave the Mexicans chickens and pigs. The corn grown and used in most of Mexico is called dent corn. You don't really want the latin, do you? When it dries, the inside germ dries smaller than the outside hull, creating a little dent, or dimple, in the end of the kernel. When the spanish first found corn, they didn't listen to the instructions for preparing it, and even though it tasted good, they didn't get the preparation quite right. You must soak the corn in lye water, which not only allows you to peel the outer inedible shell, but to create a change in certain structures of the germ, making it more nutritious. They ate the corn, but some suffered from malnutrition until the figured out what they were doing wrong. Complicated, isn't it?And, that has nothing to do with the Itononi Project.  All I need to know is that the tortillas taste vastly better, more alive here than the tortillas we eat north of the Big Fence. But, like most things, over the years, the corn has been 'improved'.

The man who owns Itononi is growing more of the antique corn, the corn that has fallen out of favor with the big producers. From a gringo's perspective, I wondered,"Why?" when I first heard about the project. The tortillas in Oaxaca are the most delicious in the country, flavorful, white blandas. When I took my first bite at Itononi last Wednesday, I understood. Oh my, that was the best corn I've ever tasted! I want to know more about the project, and know that I'll be eating at Itononi at least once a week while I'm here.

The four women working in the open kitchen were making the tortillas by hand, of course. We had three different corn masas to choose from. This first picture is one of the three huge comal/oven combinations. The wood fire, fed from the opposite side in this picture, heated the clay surface. I think cooking tortillas here must have been the best job in the city for the past few cold weeks! I ordered tetelas, little triangular shaped tortillas, filled with bean paste, crema (sort of like sour cream but not really...) and a green leafy herb called herba santa. Stuart ordered a different tortilla, filled with mushrooms and crema. ohmyohmy! I had a glass of freshly squeezed tangerine juice with it. Life doesn't get any better than this!

Stuart, watching the women working. Isn't it a festive looking place, with the crepe paper strung overhead? It's an unimpressive looking place from the outside, the kitchen is on the street side (a quiet street), and open on all sides.  We were very early for lunch, it was only 1:30, and the lunch crowds don't arrive until about 3, so we had the place to ourselves. They serve pozole on the weekends, a different corn preparation. We call it hominey at the south. We'll be eating at Itononi Sunday, I hope!