Good Food
The Great Tortilla Tournament, nixtamalization, and Guerrilla Tacos
Let’s talk tortillas! Gustavo Arellano announces KCRW’s first-ever Great Tortilla Tournament, to choose the best tortilla in LA out of a bracket of 64. Bill Esparza talks tortilla makers in the L.A. area.
By Evan Kleiman • • 56m ListenLet’s talk tortillas! Gustavo Arellano announces KCRW’s first-ever Great Tortilla Tournament, to choose the best tortilla in LA out of a bracket of 64. Bill Esparza talks tortilla makers in the L.A. area. And did you know that inside your tortilla is an ancient process, perfected over centuries? Also, L.A. Taco’s Daniel Hernandez recalls a Guadalajara taco crawl with Jonathan Gold.
In this episode
6 storiesGustavo’s Great Tortilla Tournament
Los Angeles is a destination for freshly made tortillas. So, we’ve assembled a crack team of judges to try 64 locally made corn and flour tortillas to narrow down the best in the region. Introducing “ Gustavo’s Great Tortilla Tournament.”
Read the story11 minMaking Masa
At Boyle Heights’ Carnitas Uruapan , Eddie de la Torre sells the fresh masa for his brother’s delicious tortillas at Guisados, the taqueria next door. He details what goes into the process of making perfect masa and what to cook with it.
Read the story5 minTortillas in Los Angeles
Curious what makes an trophy-worthy tortilla? Evan Kleiman was, too. To prepare for the upcoming tortilla tournament, she asks Bill Esparza to share his James Beard Award-winning wisdom on the landscape of tortilla making in the greater LA area.
Read the story7 minThe ancient chemistry inside your taco
When you bite into a taco, huarache, or a fresh corn tortilla, you’re tasting the results of an ancient chemical process called nixtamalization and dates back to 1500 BCE. The science podcast “ Distillations ” went into this process in 2016.
Read the story16 minDaniel Hernandez: Jonathan Gold on El Parian
We continue to remember Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jonathan Gold. L.A. Taco’s Daniel Hernandez recalls taking Jonathan and his spouse Laurie Ochoa on a taco crawl in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Read the story8 minGuerrilla Tacos
How is “a fat kid from Pico Rivera, turned DJ, turned teamster, turned fine-dining cook, turned DIY-food-truck chef” changing the taco game in L.A?
Read the story9 min
