Blue corn tortillas: ingredients and preparation
What blue corn tortillas are, the short ingredient lists published recipes use, how the dough comes together, and what remains unverified about blue corn flour and chips.
Contents
What are blue corn tortillas?
Blue corn tortillas are corn tortillas made from blue maize instead of the more familiar white or yellow kinds. In Mexico, tortilla dough comes in three colors of maize: white, yellow and blue. Blue maize is sometimes also called black maize. In the US Southwest, a New Mexico restaurant describes blue corn as a Southwestern classic, and handmade blue corn tortillas are shared in New Mexico home-cooking communities.
What goes into blue corn tortillas
Published home recipes use very few ingredients. One uses only two, blue corn masa harina and water. Another uses three: blue masa harina, warm water and a little salt.
| Recipe version | Ingredients |
| Two-ingredient version | Blue corn masa harina, water |
| Three-ingredient version | Blue masa harina, warm water, a little salt |
Masa harina means "dough flour" in Spanish. In both recipes it is the only corn ingredient, so it supplies the blue color and the corn flavor. Water hydrates it into a dough. Salt, which appears in only one version, is seasoning and is not needed to form the dough.
What makes them distinctive
The color comes from the maize itself. For flavor and texture, a New Mexico restaurant says blue corn tortillas have a richer, heartier bite than yellow or white ones. One recipe author calls homemade blue corn tortillas soft and flavorful and prefers them to store-bought. Both statements are opinions from individual sources, not measured comparisons.
Some writing about blue corn mentions health benefits, but the sources behind this guide do not describe them. This guide makes no claims that blue corn is nutritionally better or that any product is suitable for a gluten-free diet.
How the dough is prepared
Both recipes start the same way. You combine blue masa harina with water, warm water in one version, add salt if you are using it, and mix it into a dough. The sources available here do not supply ingredient ratios, resting times, or shaping and cooking steps, so those are not given. Use a complete recipe for the full method.
Blue corn flour, masa harina and versions without masa harina
People often search for blue corn flour, and for ways to make blue corn tortillas without masa harina. Both recipes reviewed here call specifically for blue corn masa harina. The available sources do not say whether a product sold as "blue corn flour" works the same way in tortilla dough. They also do not explain how to make blue corn tortillas from another starting ingredient. If your package isn't labeled masa harina, find a recipe written for the exact product you have rather than swapping it in.
Blue corn tortilla chips
Blue corn tortilla chips are a different product from soft blue corn tortillas. The sources here deal with soft tortillas and do not give ingredient lists for chips. Don't assume a bag of chips contains only the masa harina, water and salt used in homemade tortillas. Check the ingredient label on the specific product to see what it contains.
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