Tortilla Press
The old fashioned tortilla press is a simple and useful kitchen tool. It can be made of different materials but the principal is the same, two plates that are hinged together and used to squeeze dough into round, thin tortillas for cooking. Tortilla presses are used for making corn tortillas, flour tortillas are made using a rolling pin or a heated tortilla maker. The best type of tortilla press preferred by experienced cooks is cast iron. The weight and solid strength of cast iron allows more pressure to be applied to the tortilla with less effort. Aluminum, plastic and wood types are second choices.
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Getting Started
Remove your new tortilla press from its plastic bag and thoroughly wash it off with warm soapy water. A light abrasive will help remove any label adhesive or loose paint, coating, or factory grime. Dry it well.
Attach the handle using the bolt which is already fastened to the bottom of the tortilla press. Make sure that the flat side of the handle faces towards the tortilla press when it is attached. Your hand should rest on the curved rounded side when pressing on the handle. Snug the nut down with finger pressure only.
How To Use A Tortilla Press
When using your tortilla press always cover the surfaces with plastic wrap or wax paper. A heavy duty freezer type bag cut in half makes a handy tortilla press cover that can be reused. Tortillas never actually touch the surfaces of any tortilla press. Covering the surfaces keeps the tortillas from sticking, makes clean-up easier and also allows the dough to flow smoothly as it is pressed. See tortilla recipe for more information on use.
A tip that was suggested recently: use your tortilla press to help spread masa on corn shucks when making tamales. Simply place a ball of masa ontop of corn husk or wrapper and place both in the tortilla press (covered with plastic wrap as usual), press to the desired thickness. Remove the excess masa from around the wrapper and you have a tamale ready to roll around filling. This tip definitely works and creates smoother more consistent tamales than using a paddle, scraper or fingers. Try it!
Care Of Cast Iron Tortilla Press
Clean-up is simply a matter of wiping off your tortilla press with a damp sponge or cloth after use. If the handle gets dirty, remove it and wash separately. Cast iron tortilla presses should never be placed in the dishwasher or left to soak. They must be dried thoroughly after cleaning. The traditional style silver painted presses are more susceptible to rusting if not dried well. If there is bare metal showing I recommend applying a light coat of vegetable oil to the press before storing it. The electro-coated tortilla presses are more resilient to rust and should have no problem unless areas of finish have been scraped off.
Buy a Mexican cast iron tortilla press
Note on Wood Tortilla Press
Our wood tortilla press is made from all natural solid wood and is quite durable. Because the wood is unfinished we recommend rubbing some olive or vegetable oil into the wood as a conditioner to protect and seal the grain. As with cast iron, use plastic or wax paper to cover the surfaces and dry well after clean-up.
Buy a genuine Mexican wood tortilla press
Enjoy!
