When the parents of Ricardo Ortega’s business partner, Ommar Ahmed, decided to pack up shop at their Echo Park tortilleria, the duo decided to pick up the proverbial ball of masa they left behind.
Their kernel of truth was to use only fresh ingredients without additives. He describes the early days of the business, taking turns sleeping to produce tortillas and working 20 hour stretches. Ortega jokes that mass manufactured tortillas have more corn on their logos than the actual product. “It’s been hard to be the small guy,” he shares. “When you fold up a tortilla or put a taco in your mouth, please try to remember that hard working people with families work very hard to get that done.”
“Big corporate names have really desensitized our palate,” says Ricardo Ortega, co-owner of Kernel of Truth Organics. Photo courtesy of Kernel of Truth Organics.
Ortega describes the making of tortillas as a two-day process. Photo courtesy of Kernel of Truth Organics.
“There shouldn’t be any sour smells in tortillas,” says Ortega. “That smell is preservatives. Good tortillas should smell like corn.” Photo courtesy of Kernel of Truth Organics.