Summary
Highlights
The video introduces tamales as Mesoamerica's first grab-and-go treat, referencing a Mexican Revolution story. It notes the vast variety of tamales, with over 500 types in Mexico alone. The host attempts to recreate a 500-year-old Aztec tamale, acknowledging the lack of ancient recipes and relying on modern interpretations, historical images, and writings like the Florentine Codex.
The host embarks on the arduous process of nixtamalizing and grinding his own corn into masa. He details the ingredients needed: dried field corn, calcium hydroxide (historically from mollusk shells), water, tesquite (for salt and leavening), and corn husks. A crucial difference from modern tamales is the absence of lard, as domesticated fat animals were not present in ancient Mesoamerica.
The video discusses traditional Aztec tamale fillings, including fish, crab, iguana, squash, beans, chilies, and even huitlacoche (corn smut). For this recreation, based on the Florentine Codex, the host uses papaya and turkey. He outlines the nixtamalization process: boiling corn with calcium hydroxide, soaking overnight, rinsing, and grinding. He uses tequesquite water instead of lard for the masa.
The video demonstrates how to shape tamales, noting that Aztec images often show spherical tamales. The host attempts to form them into balls, spreading masa on a corn husk and adding the chosen filling (fruit or turkey), then folding the husk. For cooking, steaming is chosen as the most common modern method. He describes setting up a steamer with coins to indicate water levels and steaming the tamales for about 60 minutes.
Maize (corn) was central to Mesoamerican civilizations, even featuring in the Quiche Mayan creation myth where humans were made from corn. Early tamales were likely simple corn preparations. The first depictions of tamales date back to the 1st century AD in Mayan murals. Historical writings, particularly the 16th-century Florentine Codex, provide detailed descriptions of tamales and their role in Aztec festivals.
The Florentine Codex reveals that tamales were consumed at almost every Aztec festival, including the 'Atamalqualiztli' where plain water tamales were eaten. Some festivals involved unpleasant culinary challenges, like swallowing live snakes or frogs. The codex also warns against tamale theft at festivals, with severe punishments for those caught taking dishonestly or showing up late.
The video touches on the Spanish conquest, mentioning an apocryphal story of Malinche helping Cortés obtain tamales. After the conquest, tamales became associated with the poor, a stigma that lasted for centuries, though they became a 'guilty pleasure' for the wealthy. An English tourist in 1910 found them distasteful, and a 1915 novel used tamale consumption as a symbol of moral decay.
In the 19th century, tamales gained popularity in the US, seen as special treats. They were featured at the 1893 Chicago World's Colombian Exposition, despite initial skepticism from Californians. This led to a tamale craze, with 'tamale men' selling 'red hots' in major cities, even inspiring a popular song by Robert Johnson. This booming industry eventually led to 'The Tamale Wars' – territorial conflicts among vendors, some with violent outcomes.
The tamale craze faded, and today, tamales are often made by families during Christmas. The host tastes his recreated Aztec tamales, noting that they hold together well despite the absence of lard. However, the lack of lard makes them dense compared to modern, fluffy tamales. He expresses a preference for modern tamales, like those made by his Mexican mother-in-law, and encourages viewers to try tamales during the Christmas season.