From Battlefield to Mexican Delight: The Story of Tamales

This guest post comes from D. Holdeman. 

The original purpose of tamales is ironic when compared to modern evenings at Mexican restaurants, eating tamales, and drinking margaritas.  Tamales were first created to be used as war food for the Aztecs because they were easy to carry along on battlegrounds.  Over the 5,000 years later they now represent festive evenings out with friends and family enjoying a delicious meal and holidays.

What are tamales?

In some ways, Tamales are similar to pocket foods that have popped up in the cuisine of other countries all over the world.  In Chinese cuisines, won tons bear some similarity to this food.  In Europe, you may see this technique used to ravioli or pirogues.  The main idea is to use a mixture of ground grains to form a soft shell, which is then filled with some sort of paste or meat and cooked later. It is a very versatile food to make, so you’ll never get bored with the seemingly endless amount of recipes.  Tamales are also a great food to make before you hit the road, since they are pocket-sized and easily transported.

A basic recipe for tamales will begin with making the dough for the exterior. As seen on Mother Shuckers Tamales, the dough will usually be made of a ground corn mixture that has been beaten with flour or some leavening agent. The main idea is to create a pastry dough that will bake into a crispy crust, a trademark tamales trait. The filling can be just about anything you want it to be. Traditional tamales usually include beef or chicken meat that has been spiced and mixed with a sauce. A hot sauce can also be added to the exterior while eating the wrap, which gives the meal the commonly used American moniker of “Hot Tamale”, found at many baseball stadiums sold by vendors.

Creation of Tamales

Originally the first tamales were made by women in the Ancient Aztec tribes.  The tamales were baked over an open fire or coals on the ground.  The woman would make huge amounts of these for the men to carry along during battles.  This way the women didn’t have to accompany men during battle as cooks.

Since then tamales have been a staple of Hispanic diets for millenniums.  But the way Tamales are cooked may vary slightly from region to region due to the time span they have existed.  Traditional practice involves wrapping each hand-made tamale in a corn husk that can be used to shield it from direct flames while it is being baked.  Other methods include cooking inside a plantain leaf or cooking directly on a grill or fire with no leaf at all.

Today

Tamales are now commonly eaten in America, Mexico, and many Latin American countries.  It’s not surprising that they are used on many holidays like Christmas celebrations and Mexico’s national Independence Day.  Tamales have grown to become a delicious and festive treat that people associate with fun times with loved ones.

Relishing the chance to support U.S. businesses through guest posting, is My Marketing Team’s D. Holdeman.  He is lovin’ California with his beloved , their 2 sons and daughter, and he invites readers to stop by his profile and say hi.

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