A look at how whole Ontario corn becomes the tortillas on your table, without giving away the family recipe.
Every tortilla starts the same way corn tortillas have started for thousands of years: with the whole kernel. Long before corn becomes masa, it is simply corn, grown in the ground, harvested, and selected for quality.
The next step is nixtamalization, a traditional process where whole corn is gently cooked with a touch of lime. This ancient technique does more than soften the kernel; it unlocks nutrients that would otherwise stay locked inside, and it is the reason nixtamalized corn has been the foundation of tortillas across generations. It is simple in concept: corn, water, and lime, but the results are anything but ordinary.
After cooking, the corn rests. This step does not look like much from the outside, but it is where the real transformation happens, as moisture and the effects of nixtamalization continue working their way through every kernel. Patience here is part of the process, not a delay in it.
Once fully rested, the corn is ground into masa, a smooth, consistent dough that forms the base of every tortilla. This is the same foundational step tortillas have relied on for centuries, corn transformed into something new while still tasting unmistakably like corn.
From there, the masa becomes the finished product: soft, whole corn tortillas, made without shortcuts and without processed flour anywhere in the process.
What stays behind the scenes is exactly how each of these steps comes together at scale, the details that make Maize Boreal's tortillas consistent, batch after batch. Some things are worth keeping close.
Want to taste the result of this process for yourself? Join the waitlist to find out when Sierra Morena tortillas are available.
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