Learning About Corn & Corn Tortillas
In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15) we are sharing resources to teach about corn!
Corn has been, and is still today, vital in the cultural, historical and spiritual root of people of the Americas.
Life Lab created this resource in the early 2000’s. It explores agriculture, cultural traditions and what makes popcorn pop. It includes garden activities, a template for a popcorn flip book, directions to make corn husk dolls, and much more.
Resources to teach about Corn and Hispanic Heritage Month
Popcorn Oral History introduces the origins and uses of corn, from its wild ancestor teocintle to connections with indigenous languages and Spanish. We share this information with kids after making and enjoying popcorn together.
Somos MaizSD shares a video from seed to plant to tortilla!
See a brief history of tortillas from ancient times to today from Tortilla Machine.
KidsGardening has a nice collection of activity ideas and webinar on Fostering Hispanic Culture in Youth Gardens.
National Farm to School Network shares examples of how schools and school districts highlight Hispanic Heritage Month.
Life Lab created this resource in the early 2000’s. It is a deeper exploration into corn’s uses and biology. It shares how to set up Three Sisters experiments plots and about the importance of biodiversity.
Steps and Ingredients for Making Tortillas from Scratch
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Dried starchy corn kernels, like dent corn. You can find dried kernels in hispanic markets.
Slaked Lime or “Cal” (food grade calcium hydroxide) which is a white powder you mix in the boiling water to soften the corn. Find it at a hispanic market or some Ace Hardware stores.
Big Pot, Stove and Water
Tortilla Press
Plastic Bag to line the press
Griddle or Comal & Spatula
Note: making tortillas starting with a dried corn kernel and grinding the corn is a fulfilling activity that makes super tasty tortillas. To save a bit of time you could also purchase Maseca, pre ground corn tortilla mix, and get straight to mixing dough and pressing tortillas.
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Nixtamalization is the process cooking dry corn kernels in an alkaline water. Create the alkaline water by mixing in lime or “cal” in the water pot.
This will soften the corn, improve nutritional value, and enhance the flavor.
Cook the corn in a gentle boil until the corn is soft to mash or grind. Then rinse corn. Depending on the corn you use, this might also help release the skin from each kernel.
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After rinsing the corn kernels and removing any seed coats it is time to grind the corn.
The corn should be drained, but still wet.
Grind in a hand cranked mill or meat grinder. You can also use a mortar and pestle or a food processor.
When we do this with kids we have kids try out the mortar and pestle but often do the bulk of the grinding with a hand cranked grinder or if needed a food processor.
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Once we have ground the corn, we knead it into a dough. You will have to test the consistency needed by trying out some sample pressed tortillas.
Make a ball of dough a bit smaller than a ping pong ball. Put the ball between two pieces of thin plastic in the press. Press your tortilla. Put the tortilla on your hand and peel off the plastic.
Gently slap the tortilla on to a hot griddle until it puffs up a little or turns lightly brown. Flip the tortilla to brown the other side.
Corn Explorations at our Garden Classrooms
Popcorn Oral History - A script for Life Lab Interns to share with students while they are enjoying the popcorn they popped.
