The Veracruzan Corn Kitchen

Veracruz was the first place on earth where a European tasted Mexican corn. What Cortés and his companions tasted on the shores of Veracruz had the distinctive, haunting flavor that every Mexican loves from birth—nixtamal, corn treated with natural alkalis that make it into a new and magical substance.

The Spanish took to Mexican maize cooking very quickly. Two kinds of preparation attracted their interest from the first. One was the griddle-baked Mexican daily “bread,” which they called tortillas (little round cakes). Another was the people’s favorite celebration food, richly moist corn mixtures steamed inside leaf wrappings. Trying to pronounce the name in the language of the Aztecs, the newcomers came up with the now familiar word tamales.