Native Hearth

Every year my family and I have a tradition of making tamales to celebrate mid-winter. We all gather around the kitchen table that is covered in colorful bowls of fillings and masa dough, we laugh and talk as we scoop up handfuls of masa dough made from last years corn that we grew in our garden and spread a thin layer over a corn husk smoothing it with our fingers. After we have made all the tamales we place them in the steamer let them cook the whole house filling with the aroma of corn.

Tamales have a rich history, here are a couple of fun facts about tamales!

1. The tamale is recorded as early as 5000 BC, possibly 7000 BC in Pre-Columbian history
2. Tamales were eaten by warriors of the warring  tribes of the Aztec, Mayan and Incan peoples, because they are filling and portable.
3. Tamale fillings can range from beans, beef, rice and cheese to frog, ant, gopher and banana. (can you imagine eating an ant tamale?)
4. Commonly wrapped in cornhusks, banana and avocado leaves tamales can sometimes be wrapped in fabric or soft tree bark.
5. In different regions tamales have different names

           Nicaragua—————-Nacatamal

           Guatamala—————Paches and Chuchtitos

            Bolivia and

             Ecuador—————-Humita

           Columbia—————-Bollo

            Cuba, Mexico,

             South and Central

            America—————-Tamal

           Michoacan, Mexico—Coruda

             Veracruz, Mexico—-Zacahull

           Venezuela————–Hallaca

Steps to making tamales!!

 

Next week I will be posting a tamale recipe on the recipes page!

I’m looking forward to this tasty tradition in the years to come!!