Reclaiming Corn
Reclaiming Corn:
America’s Forgotten Grain Solution for Homesteaders
By Catherine Lightfoot, Peace of Earth Farmstead, Willow Springs, Missouri
My mother was visiting us when I proudly plucked the first cob of flour corn from our 3 sisters garden, excitedly I peeled back the husk to reveal the dry, white kernels, and my mother exclaimed, “we can’t eat that!” Like most modern Americans, she had no experience of homegrown corn as a staple grain. Today in the US, corn means roadside sweet corn or highly processed, genetically-modified, glyphosate-tainted substances such as corn syrup, corn oil and corn starch or rows of field corn for livestock. Actually, corn is America’s grain… we’ve just forgotten her. Zea Mays, the botanical name for corn, is a plant uniquely adapted to the North and South American continents. She is, however, a scientific mystery, as she is the only plant that cannot reproduce in the wild. Corn has co-evolved with humans and is dependent on human interaction to save and plant her seeds for future generations. Botanists continually bump up against another corn mystery- where did this plant come from? For a long time, this question went unanswered; however, recently they have hypothesized that corn evolved from an ancient wild grass, Teosinte, growing in southern Mexico. Many indigenous creation stories tell of corn being divinely gifted to humans in various ways. Whether evolution or creation, the time has come to reclaim this forgotten gift to humanity. On our homestead, we have discovered flour corn to be easy to grow, harvest and process into sustainable, nutrient-dense grain foods that taste good and meet our needs for self-sufficiency.
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Homemade Flour Corn Tortillas instructional video.
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Corn Tortillas 101
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Homegrown Corn Tortilla Recipe & instructions
Makes 6-8 tortillas
Ingredients:
2 cups masa harina (nixtamalized corn flour)
1 ½- 2 cups warm water
OR
Freshly ground nixtamalized corn
1/2 tsp Salt (optional)
Instructions:
1) Bring ingredients together into a homogenous dough using your hands. If you are starting with dry masa harina (nixtamalized corn flour), add your water slowly until you have the best consistency. Your dough ball should hold together without cracking (too dry) and should not feel wet; when you press a finger into the dough ball, the depression should stay and feel a bit dry, but not crack at the edges. Cover with a lightly damp cloth and let rest for 10-15 minutes (while you heat your skillet)
2) Scoop a small amount of dough and form into a ball (about 2” round)
Press with a tortilla press or roll out to about 1/8” thickness
3) Place pressed dough onto a pre-heated cast iron skillet or griddle on medium-low for about 30 seconds, then turn to medium-high. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side (just until you get a few golden brown spots)
4) Place freshly cooked tortillas in a covered bowl or pan lined with a dish towel to steam (be sure the dish towel is on bottom and on top of the tortillas) continue to add cooked tortillas to the same bowl/pan, keep covered with towel and with a lid until all tortillas are cooked.
Serve immediately while still warm.
Notes:
It is super helpful to use a plastic bag or waxed paper to press your tortillas, so that you can easily lift the tortilla without it sticking or tearing.
If you have cooked tortillas leftover, you can store them in a plastic bag in the fridge and heat them the next day with butter on a hot cast iron skillet. Melted cheese highly recommended!
