CORN TORTILLAS FROM SCRATCH

Nutrition Education:
How to Make
Corn Tortillas from Scratch
Lisa Marquand
DFM 655
November 2, 2015

CORN TORTILLAS FROM SCRATCH

I. Introduction
Mexican cuisine has been one of my favorites in the world of gastronomy. There are a
variety of delicious dishes in Mexican cuisine that begin with a corn tortilla: enchiladas, tacos,
tostadas, and flautas. I learned to cook all these dishes at a young age, which I believe was
beneficial to the development of my cooking skills. I love cooking because it can create a sense
of community by bringing people together. With my skills and knowledge of Mexican cuisine, I
chose to create a lesson plan to teach students and families how to make corn tortillas from
scratch.
My idea was developed from my desire to empower low-income youth with the tools
necessary for a healthy lifestyle by engaging them in activities to support health, nutrition and
community, while reinforcing their basic cooking skills. As a student, I know it can be
financially challenging to eat healthy and time constraining to cook at home. Given this
information I have created a lesson plan based on social cognitive learning theory, as it seems the
most appropriate for my audience.
My dominant teaching style is apprenticeship (Bauer, Liou, & Sokolik, 2012),
which is why I chose to demonstrate how to make corn tortillas. Through demonstration of
tortilla making my audience will be able to model the techniques through hands-on learning. My
apprenticeship approach also addresses the behavioral capability of my audience by
demonstrating the ease of making corn tortillas and reinforcements by providing them with a
sample of fresh-made tortillas (Bauer, Liou, & Sokolik, 2012).
II. Lesson Plan
Duration: 7 minutes
Target Group: Students and/or families on a budget

CORN TORTILLAS FROM SCRATCH

Overall Goal: To enhance cooking skills through demonstration of tortilla-making

Major Concepts:

Masa de maiz (Corn)

- Brief history
- Processing
Preparation
- Cooking skills
- Different uses of masa de maiz

Icebreaker or Attention Grabber: (1 minute)

Ask students questions in regards to tortillas and Mexican cuisine

- Ex: Who likes Mexican food? What food dishes come to mind when you think of
Mexican food?

Objectives and Learning Domain; Generalizations and Learning experiences

1. The students will value the benefits of consuming corn tortillas.
Domain: Affective domain valuing
Generalization: The health benefits of processing corn and the low cost of production may
influence consumption of corn tortillas.
Learning Experiences: (1-2 minutes)
Provide a lecture on the following:
History of uses of corn in cooking

Olmec (~1200-400 BC), Aztec (~1200 AD 1500 AD), and Mayan (~1800 BC current)
civilizations use maize (zea mays) as staple in their diet (History.com, 2009; Owen,

2013).
The corn was processed then ground using stone tools, such as the metate, which is a flat
stone with a separate stone grinder with a similar shape as a rolling pin.

Nixtamalization: the alkaline cooking process of corn and its health benefits

CORN TORTILLAS FROM SCRATCH

Corn is soaked and cooked in lime (a solution of calcium oxide and water).
The process of nixtamalization softens the pericarp (tough outer layer of corn) to make it

easy to remove.
Nixtamalization increases bioavailability of vitamin B3 (niacin) and increases protein and
calcium content (Bressani, R., Turcios, J.C., & De Ruiz, A.S.C., 2009; Harris,
2009; Sefa-Dedeh, Cornelius, Sakyi-Dason, & Afoakwa, 2004).

Food Cost

A 5-lb bag of masa de maiz costs around $4-5 and can make up to 9 lbs. of tortillas.
The cost of a 1-lb bag of corn tortillas at a supermarket is about $3-4!

2. The students will name examples of food items that can be made from corn masa, and state the
corresponding countries.
Domain: Cognitive domain knowledge
Generalization: There are many food items from various Latin American countries that can be
made from corn masa.
Learning Experiences: (30 seconds)
Students will name food items from different countries that are made from corn masa.
Guatemala/Mexico: Salbutes, Totopes; Mexico: tamales, tortillas, sopes; El Salvador: pupusas;
Colombia/Venezuela: hallacas, arepas.
3. The students will observe a demonstration of making corn tortillas.
Domain: Psychomotor domain perception
Generalization: Handmade corn tortillas are fast, inexpensive and easy to make.
Learning Experiences: (3 minutes)

A food demonstration of handmade corn tortillas will be given, showing the ingredients

used to make the masa (instant masa and water).

The rolling technique to form a masa ball will be demonstrated.

CORN TORTILLAS FROM SCRATCH

A tortilla press is used to form the flat, round tortilla from the masa ball.

Summary: Corn has been a staple in the diet of many ancient civilizations leading up to current
day Mexico. Nixtamalization is an alkaline cooking process that is used to turn corn into masa,
which improves the health benefits of corn. Masa de maiz is the base to make corn tortillas and a
variety of other Latin American dishes. Making corn tortillas is easy, fast, and inexpensive to
make at home.
Evaluation: A pre-test was sent to assess the cooking skill level, knowledge of the processing of
corn tortillas, food budget, and house/family size. A post-test was sent out to evaluate the
learning experience. Questions in regard to the lecture, the demonstration, and questions
regarding likelihood of making tortillas from scratch were asked.
Assignment: Students will be called to the front of the class to demonstrate what they learned
from the lesson by making their own tortillas. Since not all students will be able to demonstrate
what they learned, each will have a handout with instructions to take home to try making
handmade corn tortillas at home.
III. Discussion
Almost half of the responses (45%) in my pre-assessment had no prior knowledge of
masa de maiz; 85% of the audience had never made corn tortillas from scratch. The majority of
my audience does not live alone and stated that making corn tortillas could bring them together
with roommates or family to cook together. After my demonstration, almost 80% of the survey
responses stated they were confident to make tortillas from scratch on their own. 17 out of 19
showed they had an understanding of nixtamalization.
Based on the results of the post-test survey, my presentation was successful. After
watching my video I realized that I did not seem as nervous as I felt during the presentation. I

CORN TORTILLAS FROM SCRATCH

could have talked a little more about different uses of masa, but time was limited which made me
nervous. This project was very challenging because of time limitations, but with the feedback
and knowledge I have, I can enhance and reproduce the same lesson plan in the future.

Appendix 1: References
Bauer, K., Liou, D., & Sokolik C. (2012). Nutrition counseling and education
skill
Skill development, second edition. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Bressani, R., Turcios, J.C., & De Ruiz, A.S.C. (April, 2002). Nixtamalization
effects

CORN TORTILLAS FROM SCRATCH

On the contents of phytic acid, calcium, iron, and zinc in the whole
grain, endosperm, and germ of maize. Food science and technology
international 8(2): 81-86.
Retrieved October 26, 2015 from:
http://fst.sagepub.com/content/8/2/81.full.pdf+html
Harris, K. (March, 2009). Nixtamalization: nutritional benefits. The Nourishing
Gourmet Online. Retrieved October 26, 2015 from:
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/03/nixtamalizationnutritional-benefits.html
History.com Staff (2009). Aztecs. A&E Networks. Retrieved online from:
http://www.history.com/topics/aztecs
Owen, J. (December, 2013). The Maya: history, culture and religion. Live
science
Online. Retrieved October 26, 2015 from:
http://www.livescience.com/41781-the-maya.html
Sefa-Dedeh, S., Cornelius, B., Sakyi-Dason, E., & Afoakwa, E.O. (July, 2004).
Effect
Of nixtamalization on the chemical and functional properties of maize.
Food
Chemistry 86(3): 317-324. Retrieved October 24, 2015 from:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814603004400