No one would argue that the tortilla is one of the main staples of the Mexican diet. All over Mexico, in every level of household, one finds the tortilla. Sometimes it is made from corn, sometimes flour (harina) or even a mixture of both (mixtas). Once upon a time, women’s lives revolved around the tortilla. They would be up at dawn mixing masa and stoking their fires in order to feed their families. That still happens, but in the cities and small towns, the tortilla is now commonly bought at the neighborhood tortilleria saving the modern Mexican woman a great deal of work.

Some of the greatest tortillas are found in the wheat-producing north that has been amusingly described as the place where “civilization ends and carne asada begins.” There one finds the large, paper thin, delicate flour tortillas, commonly cooked on recycled tractor discs. The shaping and making of this tortilla is an art form in itself. Hands, arms and body all become part of the process. And, of course, the best part comes when eaten; torn into pieces to soak up soups like cocido or cazuela, rolled with beans to make a burrito or toasted with melted cheese or butter to make a thin crispy border-style pizza that, in restaurants, is commonly referred to as a “cheese crisp.”