Eric Demay

With a population of over 110 million, it is no surprise that Mexico’s most staple food, the tortilla, isn’t commonly handmade anymore¹.

But when my eyes stumbled upon this machine, making tortilla after tortilla, baking them a gazillion a minute, patrons picking up their fresh orders at the nearby counter, I was torn. Part of me was in awe: the beauty of a food making machine still fascinates me no matter how industrialized it may be. I enjoy it the same way I enjoy an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine.

However, I also felt like I was suddenly behind the curtain, watching the fraudulent Wizard of Oz operate his levers and dials, faking it all. The magic of the simple tortilla—such an essential constituent of the Mexican culinary culture—had gone, its innocence had vanished before me. Talking to a few Mexicans about it, most do feel strongly about its taste. Of them not being handmade anymore (and made using, most of the time, poor instant corn flour): “It’s just not the same. They’re simply not as good.”

So, now aware of this new duality, look around closely and you’ll notice many small restaurants or street food vendors still make their own, to the great pleasure of their patrons:

• 1. If you haven’t already, I press you to read this overview by Edible Geography of the maize and tortilla situation in contemporary Mexico amongst el Walmarts and sliced breads.