THE QUANTUM SUPERPOSITION OF MASS

Corn is part of the daily diet of Mexicans, and it is so common to see it on our table that we rarely realize the relevance of this wonderful ingredient, just as we rarely realize the amount of food that can be derived from it. of Mexican gold.

In various Mesoamerican cultures, corn was considered a sacred plant that represented the universe, and it was even considered the raw material that created the first “perfect” human beings. It was a vital part of the agricultural calendar and multiple festivities related to fertility.

A famous legend from ancient Mexico tells that the Huichol people, tired of the monotony of their diet, wanted to find a plant that they could eat every day, but in a different way. It was there that a young Huichol man, following a line of ants (guardians of the corn) arrived at the corn house, where he met the five daughters of the Mother of Corn: White Cob, Blue Cob, Yellow Cob, Red Cob and Black Cob ; The Corn Mother offered him one of her daughters and he took the Blue Corn Girl, the most beautiful of all; bringing knowledge to the Huichol people, and, in the end, she ground herself to give the Huichol people a new drink: atole.

One of the most common methods of preparing corn since indigenous Mexican times was masa, where women cooked the corn grain for several hours with a little lime, in a process called nixtamalization, which makes the grain soften, loosen your skin and add nutrients; Afterwards, the grains were ground in the metate and a slightly grainy dough was obtained, which has survived to our time as cracked corn dough, generally used to make tortillas.

However, the tortilla is not the only thing that can be made with corn dough, since it has an infinite number of variations, which, although they may be simple modifications, give rise to completely different products from each other. Here are some examples:

• The thin, circular base of completely cooked corn dough is called a tortilla.

• If you fry or dry a tortilla you have tostada

• If you add cheese to that already cooked tortilla and cook it until the cheese melts completely, you have a quesadilla.

• If you fill the raw tortilla with rajas, tinga or fresh cheese, fold it and close it completely and then fry it, you have a molote, a typical dish from Puebla.

• If instead of making a thin base, you make it between 4 and 5 mm thick, you have a gordita, which is usually filled with an infinite variety of stews.

• If you stuff that gordita with beans and fry it in its entirety instead of cooking it on a griddle, you have a panucho, a traditional dish in Campeche and Mérida that usually has protein and a variety of vegetables on top.

• If instead of filling the gordita, you make small edges on that circular base once cooking is finished, you have what is known as sope or pinchada, an excellent appetizer that is not to be missed and is served in any traditional restaurant,

• Now, if you fill a gordita with beans and give it a long oval shape, you have what are known as tlacoyos.

• If you cook this tlacoyo in a slightly smaller shape, spread it with lard and brown it over low heat to finish by spreading sauce and cheese, you will have a memela.

• And if you make a tlacoyo without filling and a little thinner you have a huarache.

This list can go on infinitely, considering shapes, fillings, processes, etc., and although the examples I gave you here may seem like many, in Mexico, each state has a wide variety of appetizers made with corn dough, ranging from savory examples to desserts or drinks.

Corn being a culinary canvas where countless flavors and textures are painted in Mexican cuisine, each bite is a unique experience that connects us with the history and cultural diversity of Mexico, which is why I invite you to take a gastronomic trip to savor the complicated and varied delights that corn dough offers.