Tamales and Wine, Sounds Mighty Fine
Tamales and Wine, Sounds Mighty Fine
Texas Wine Collective is hosting a Taste of Texas: Tannins and Tamales pairing to Celebrate the Holidays on Sunday afternoon, December 15th, in the TWC Event Center. There will be two sessions, 12:30 and 2:30 pm. TWC Wine Educator Carl Hudson will host this event featuring 3 different tamales paired with 6 wines from our TWC partners – Brennan Vineyards, Lost Oak Winery, and McPherson Cellars.
Reservations and prepayment are required. Please check the www.texaswinecollective.com website to make your reservations: and join us for a fun and delicious pairing.
Because tamales are such an important part of Texas cuisine, especially during the holiday period, it seems appropriate to share some information on this traditional comfort food as we approach the Christmas holidays.
History suggests tamales were created by the Aztecs who believed the first corn plant sprouted from the grave of a god. Archeology has identified the “original corn” as the seed pod from a native grass called teosinte that had just a few kernels with very hard shells. These hard shells made the kernels difficult to eat, but archaeological evidence suggests that as ancient farmers selected the best kernels to re-plant over 6-7 millennia genetic mutation modified the hard, outer coating of teosinte seeds creating corn plants in South America, Central America, and Mexico similar to what we know today.
Tamales are typically made with corn flour, called masa or masa harina, and can be filled with meats, seafood, cheeses, vegetables, herbs, chilies, fruits, chocolate, or any number of preparations according to taste. Ancient corn flour was VERY difficult to make in centuries past until two key developments were made. One, mentioned above, was the agricultural development of modern corn with softer hulls, better taste, and more nutrition. The second was a process called nixtamalization where maize or corn kernels are soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution making it much easier to transform the kernels into a meal or flour-like form. This process not only makes the grinding of corn kernels easier, it improves the nutritional value, flavor, and aroma of corn, as well as significantly reducing native toxins (molds in the corn) that are harmful to humans and many animals.
It is not clear how the ancient Mesoamericans discovered nixtamalization but some historians suggest that heated lime-rich stones or even mussel shells were added to pots to boil corn. This made the cooking liquid alkaline in nature. Slaked lime (calcium hydroxide), lye (potassium hydroxide), and soda ash (from the burning of certain plants) also create alkaline solutions that were used in various regions.
During cooking and soaking in an alkaline solution, a number of chemical changes take place in the corn. Cell wall components in the kernels are soluble in alkaline solutions, so the kernels soften and the hulls loosen. The grain hydrates and absorbs calcium or potassium (depending on the alkali used) and starches swell and gelatinize making the kernels easier to grind and help a workable dough to form more readily. This also changes the corn's nutritional matrix making proteins and nutrients more available to the human body.
A modern industrial process of enzymatic nixtamalization has been developed for large-scale corn milling. Certain enzymes can penetrate the grain and help dissolve the corn hull. This makes nixtamal or hominy that can be easily ground into masa.
A primary nutritional benefit of nixtamalization is to render corn protein more digestible so that natural tryptophan can be absorbed and converted into niacin, an important component in the human diet. Secondary benefits arise from the corn's absorption of alkali minerals, like calcium, iron, copper, and zinc.
Nixtamalization significantly deactivates (over 90%) of mycotoxins that commonly infect corn. These molds are considered to be putative carcinogens and detrimental to the health of humans and animals.
Corn prepared in this way is called hominy or nixtamal. Whole fresh nixtamal may be used in the preparation of pozole, menudo, and other foods. When dried, it can be ground to make masa (nixtamal dough) used to make tortillas and tamales. When dried and finely ground, it is called masa harina or masa flour.
Archeologists have discovered evidence that corn and the production of tamales date back approximately 9,000 years. Aztecs considered tamales sacred as they were seen as a food of the gods and they considered maize or corn a central part of their cultural identity. So, tamales made from corn played an important role in their rituals, religious celebrations, and festivals. Tamales played a key role in weddings, funerals, and festivals and were not only stuffed with special ingredients but were decorated in many different, and often elaborate ways. Classic Mayan hieroglyphs of tamales have been found on ceramic cooking pots suggesting that tamales were a primary foodstuff in the Mesoamerican diet.
You might expect one of the world's oldest recipes to be straightforward in its preparation, but tamales are remarkably labor-intensive. To make tamales, ancient cooks treated corn kernels with an alkali solution to break down the tough cell walls and bind the dough together. This nixtamalization process made the backbreaking work of grinding corn a little bit easier. But cooks still had to prepare dough, fillings, wrap the tamales, and tend to them for hours while they cook. It's hard work, especially with traditional tools.
For ancient Mezoamericans, tamales also served a practical purpose as hunters, soldiers, and travelers carried the nutritious, filling, and portable cakes with them while away from home, sort of like an ancient Clif bar. Over time, tamales evolved from a festival treat and an on-the-go snack to a culturally significant dish.
Although pork and beef are popular tamale fillings today, this tradition only dates back a few hundred years after pigs and cows were first introduced by European colonizers. Pre-Columbian cooks had no shortage of fillings, though. They used meat from deer, rabbit, turkey, armadillo, fish, and frogs and flavored tamales with chili peppers, tomatoes, beans, squash, flowers, mushrooms, and wild herbs. Further, tamales were not limited to savory flavors as honey and fruits were used to make sweetened versions.
Aztec tamales were cooked in earth ovens heated by steam released from cane stalks grown and harvested for the express purpose of cooking tamales. Because tamales held great religious and spiritual significance, it was customary for Aztec women to stay up for two to three days preparing and cooking tamales before a wedding or festival.
In many regions the most common method of cooking tamales is by steaming in a spherical vessel known as a tamalero, as opposed to boiling them. The other common method of cooking tamales was on a large flat stone called a comal – also used to cook tortillas. In addition to corn husks, banana and plantain leaves were and are commonly used to wrap tamales. Specific tamales made for hunters and travelers were cooked with extra wood ashes to create a hardened 'shell' around the tamales that could keep for 2-3 weeks.
Tamales are found throughout Central and South America, from the Amazon to the Andes and throughout Mexico. Tamales in Brazil often contain corn mixed with sugar and coconut. In the Caribbean tamales may be made with minimal filling to be eaten with other foods like grilled meats or salted fish. A cornmeal porridge made with masa and meat is common in Cuba. In other regions, ingredients like the tuberous starchy root of the cassava plant, ripe plantain, potato, and rice can be used, with or without corn masa, to create a thicker, sturdier tamale dough.
Most of us think of Mexico as the home of tamales. In Mexico, tamales begin with a dough made from ground nixtamalized corn (hominy), called masa or masa harina, that is combined with lard or vegetable shortening, along with broth or water, to make a thick batter. It is traditional to whisk the resulting batter to produce a soft, fluffy texture. Modern recipes may use baking powder to achieve a similar effect. Chili purees or dried chili powders are often added to the batter, which in addition to adding spice imparts a reddish color. Tamales are generally wrapped in corn husks or plantain leaves before being steamed, with the choice of wrapping depending on the region.
Today, tamales are a source of pride and national identity, celebrated at festivals and events. But, for many years, they were considered low class cuisine. Wealthy Mexicans opted for European cuisine, at least in polite society. But tamales persisted not only among the lower classes but also as a guilty pleasure for the elites. In the late 19th century, the Mexican Revolution brought a new sense of pride in traditional culture and Mexican society began not only to accept but to celebrate their culture, and tamales with it.
Tamale-making is a ritual that has been part of Mexican life since pre-Hispanic times, when special fillings and forms were designated for each specific festival or life event. Today, tamales are typically filled with meats, cheese, or vegetables, especially chilies. Tamales with both sweet and savory fillings are a favorite comfort food in Mexico, eaten at both breakfast and dinner. Preparation is complex and time-consuming, and an excellent example of Mexican communal cooking, where this task usually falls to the women in a traditional tamalada, or tamale-making party. One special version is the tamal dulce breakfast tamale from Oaxaca that contains pineapple, raisins, blackberries, and often the local white cheese. Street vendors throughout Mexico can be seen serving tamales from huge, steaming, covered pots called tamaleras.
Tamales are common in the Philippines and Guam, which were governed by Spain as a province of Mexico. Some are made with rice rather than corn and are stuffed with seasoned chicken, pork, or seafood with the addition of peanuts, coconut milk, and sugar. They can be wrapped in banana leaves or corn husks for cooking.
Traditionally, tamales didn't stop north of what is now Mexico. Several Native American tribes prepared foods using corn dough very similar to tamales. In Louisiana, descendants of Spanish settlers from central Mexico have been making tamales for several centuries. In the Mississippi Delta, tamales were introduced by soldiers returning from the Mexican-American war and/or by migrant cotton harvesters from Mexico. African American farm workers across the southern U.S. developed a heavily seasoned, spicy “hot tamale” made from cornmeal instead of masa that was boiled in corn husks.
While tamales were well-known in California and south Texas, it wasn't until introduction at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and the World's Columbian Exposition in 1894, that tamales became a popular ethnic food in the U.S. Tamale stands sprang up on street corners across America and the public loved them. While traditional style tamales are featured at ethnic restaurants throughout the United States, some tamales sold in America bear little resemblance to traditional Latino cuisine as adventurous chefs take the opportunity to explore their heritage. Chefs have created such variations as carrot cake tamales and hot dog tamales with American cheese, pushing the culture, and cuisine in new directions.
Around the beginning of the 20th century, the name "tamale pie" was given to meat pies and casseroles made with a cornmeal crust and typical tamale fillings. As you can imagine, this led to the now common corn chip or Frito pie. Although characterized as Mexican food, these forms are not popular in Mexican American culture in which the individually wrapped tamale remains the preferred style.
Exploring ethnic cuisines can be a fun culinary adventure. The tamale is a traditional and important part of Texas cuisine, especially when enjoyed with family and friends during the holidays. Texas grape growers and winemakers produce a wide range of White, Red, and Rosé wines that will pair well with your favorite style of tamale - savory, spicy, or sweet – stuffed with whatever ingredients you prefer. Tamales and wine, sounds mighty fine. Eat and drink well my friends.