Editing Corn tortilla (section)

==History==
[[File:Corn tortilla tlaxcalli Codex Mendoza Aztec glyph symbol.png|thumb|This drawing is a recreation of the corn tortilla [[Aztec writing|glyph]] found in the [[Codex Mendoza]]<ref>Mursell, I. (n.d.). Aztec children's clothes. ''Mexicalore.'' Retrieved September 8, 2012, from [http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/index.php?one=azt&two=tec&id=556&typ=reg link]</ref>]]
The corn tortilla was first developed in Mexico, during prehistoric times. It has since become a staple carbohydrate in North American and Mesoamerican cultures. It predates its derivative, the [[Flour tortilla (Mexico)|wheat flour]] tortilla (''tortilla de harina'' or ''tortilla de trigo''), in all such cultures. This is because old world wheat was neither known nor grown in the Americas prior to European colonization.

In Aztec times two or three corn tortillas would be eaten with each meal, either plain or dipped in [[mole (sauce)|mole]] or a [[chili pepper]] and water sauce.<ref name="Olver" >{{cite web |work=[[The Food Timeline]] |first=Lynne |last=Olver |author-link=Lynne Olver |year=2000 |title=Food Timeline FAQs: Aztec, Maya, & Inca foods and recipes |access-date=August 30, 2012 |url=http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodmaya.html}}</ref>   Tortillas were also sold at Aztec marketplaces filled with [[Turkey (bird)|turkey]] meat, turkey eggs, beans, honey, squash, prickly pears and various preparations of chili pepper.<ref name="Olver" />

Analogous staple carbohydrates in New World cultures, all made from [[hominy]] and serving a similar nutritional function, include the ''[[Sope (food)|sope]]'', the ''[[totopo]]'', the ''[[gordita]]'', the ''[[tlacoyo]]'' of Mexico, and the ''[[pupusa]]'' of Central America.  The ''[[arepa]]'' of northern South America, though similar, is made with ground maize, not hominy, and does not offer the same nutrition profile as foods whose maize has been [[Nixtamalization|processed with alkali]]{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}.

The [[Tamal (dish)|''tamal'']] (or tamale) of Mexico  is also made from ''[[nixtamal]]'' (the Nahuatl word for hominy is the source of the term 'nixtamalization'), but is much thicker and a dish unto itself, usually including other ingredients and flavors.