We wanted to squeeze in one more Levi post before the year ends and December–Tamale-making season–passes. Happy New Year!

By Junior Levi Kassinove

If you haven’t had a tamale before, I’m sorry. They are more than delicious; they are divine. It is a one of a kind texture, with a flavorful inside. They can be dinner and dessert. The ingredients that go into tamales are no less than the elements of life itself, such as meat, vegetables, and cheese. If you want to try a tamale, wait until December to ask your Mexican friend if you can tag along with them to their family’s annual tamale-making party. I guarantee you they will happily accept. Or, wait until next year’s Tamale Festival in November, which is also where fellow blogger and food-lover Luke Sonderman saved a turtle. Full disclosure, tamales and turtles are COMPLETELY unrelated.

What is it and how are they made?

Tamales are basically pockets of masa–that can be filled with absolutely anything–wrapped in a corn husk. But, before we can get into the different types of tamales and how they are made, we need to understand what masa actually is. Masa is corn that has gone through a process called nixtamalization, which is a chemical process that involves soaking and cooking corn in an alkaline solution. In 1000 BCE, when we didn’t know what chemistry was, it is estimated that people in Mesoamerica put chunks of limestone in boiling water to make the alkaline solution. It is not known what originally drove people to put limestone in water to boil corn, but it works…Okay, I’ll say what we are all thinking. It was divine intervention. 

After the masa is made, it is spread on a corn husk as seen in the picture. From there, one can put anything they want on the masa. If it’s a savory tamale, the most common things to put on it are shredded pork with a red chile sauce (my personal favorite), chicken, or cheese and peppers. If it’s sweet, some common tamales I’ve seen are mango, strawberry, and blueberry. I have never seen a chocolate tamale before. Usually, a dessert tamale is just a tamale with fruit. 

After the toppings are put on, the corn husk is wrapped to create a sort of rectangular burrito. It is then steamed until the masa is solid yet soft so that it holds shape, as seen with the strawberry tamale. The texture of masa is hard to describe; you’ll have to experience it for yourself. It is light and airy, but with much more flavor than a typical tortilla. Also, masa can be added to a sort of hot chocolate along with brown sugar to make champurrado, a drink fit for the winter. In conclusion, you gotta try it.