Tortilla-based foods are among the most popular and preferred cuisines today. Those enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, soft tacos, and wraps you love so much require tortillas to have their delectable taste and look.
Most of us are used to buying tortillas from stores whenever we want to prepare these foods. Or rush to a nearby local Tex-Mex and Mexican restaurant since it’s quick and convenient.
Unfortunately, most of these restaurants are closed due to the pandemic, but that doesn’t mean you can’t eat tortilla-based cuisines anymore. You can prepare them by yourself at home in few simple steps.
Making tortilla may seem complicated, but it’s a relatively straightforward and fast task if you have the right ingredients, a suitable tortilla maker, and know the correct preparation method.
Finding the best tortilla maker can be tricky if you don’t know the best brands and types available in the market. This article explores some of the finest tortilla makers in Amazon, their pros and cons, how they work, and the tortilla preparation method to help prepare delicious and pleasing tortillas at home.
What is a tortilla maker?
Commonly referred to as a tortilladora by the Mexicans, a tortilla maker/press refers to a simple wooden or metallic tool with a handle, base, and top utilized to make perfectly round tortillas. Before tortilla makers were invented, people utilized their hands or banana leaves to flatten out masa balls.
This approach is time-consuming and doesn’t create perfectly shaped tortillas like when using a tortilla maker. Today, you can even find an electric tortilla press with more sophisticated features for easy use and constructed from highly durable material to serve you for ages.
Electric tortilla makers are more convenient because they’ll simultaneously press and bake your tortilla in a jiffy. Besides making tortillas, you can use them to make other foods like Roti, pita, flatbreads, focaccia Moo Shoo pancakes, and Gryo.
Types of tortillas
Tortillas can be either made from corn or flour. You’ll need water and masa harina to prepare corn tortillas, while for flour tortillas, you’ll need flour, salt, baking powder, and lard/Crisco. These tortillas are suitable for different dishes.
Corn tortillas work best with tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, chips, and taquitos, while flour-made tortillas are suitable for burritos, tacos, quesadillas, flautas, and fajitas. Flour tortillas are primarily handy when preparing dishes that need larger wraps, for example, burritos and quesadillas.
While it’s easy to roll flour tortillas (simply roll them out using a rolling pin), corn tortillas require a tortilla maker to achieve a perfectly round shape. It can be a wooden, metal, or electric tortilla press. You can decide to buy one of these depending on your preference and kitchen needs.
Six best tortilla makers you should consider in 2021
Unlike a rolling pin, a tortilla maker makes uniformly circular, flat, and moderately thin tortillas within seconds without struggling. However, it can be hectic and ineffective if you select a poorly built model or knead your tortilla incorrectly.
Below are some of the most efficient tortilla makers you can use to prepare better tortillas than those you get from stores. All you need is to get one, your favorite recipe, and a few practical YouTube tutorials.
1. Norpo Tortilla Maker (6 inches)
Norpo is a reputable kitchenware company, and it’s known for its sturdy and highly efficient products since 1973. Norpo Tortilla maker is an effective and easy-to-use 6-inch tortilla press for someone looking for a small presser or cooking for a smaller crowd.
Most tortilla makers are created from cast iron, making them a bit heavier (about 5-7 lbs). However, this tortilla maker is built from aluminum. Hence it is much lighter (1.5lbs) and easy to handle.
Its handle is comfortable and has substantial leverage. However, you’ll need to use more effort to press the handle compared to the heavier models. Its pocket-friendly price makes it an ideal choice for people with tight budgets. In Amazon, this tortilla maker cost $16.97
Its only disadvantage is it can’t make bigger tortillas. Therefore, if you’re planning to make larger tortillas, it best you go for other larger models.
2. StarBlue 10-inch Roti and Tortilla Maker
Basing on its reviews on Amazon, this electric tortilla maker is worth investing in. It’s silver in color, made from stainless steel, weighs 5.45 pounds, has non-stick plates, a timing indicator, and it’s super easy to clean.
Its non-stick plates prevent tortillas from breaking and sticking with the plate, ensuring they maintain their smoothness and look. Timing is a very crucial factor when preparing tortillas and Roti. This pressor has an indicator to help you easily check on your tortillas while cooking.
The red indicator shows power while the green one tells when it is most appropriate to start using the appliance after it heats up. Its steel body makes it a long-term kitchen investment, and it’s more useful to individuals looking for larger tortilla makers.
Currently, this electric tortilla maker isn’t available on Amazon, but it’s worth knowing about it.
3. Victoria Heavy cast iron 8-inch tortilla maker
This tortilla maker has a traditional shape and slightly heavier (5pounds) to make the perfect circular and flat tortillas. It has large enough pressing plates to prevent dough from spilling from the sides if you miss putting the balls in the center.
Cast iron is usually a non-stick surface. Hence, be sure of creating round tortillas without breaking or sticking on the plates. This material is also long-lasting; therefore, this presser will serve for a very long time.
In amazon, this tortilla has five stars and lots of promising reviews. You can get it for only $29. 99, which is worthwhile given how long it will serve you. Its main drawbacks are; you’ll need to season and buy parchment paper liners by yourself. It also not suitable for making tortillas that are more than eight inches.
4. Brentwood TS-127 Electric Tortilla maker
Make uniformly round 8-inch tortillas using this electric tortilla press. It allows heat adjustment; hence it’s easy to make soft and crispy tortillas depending on your preference. Its aluminum non-stick plates make it easy and quick to clean.
Its two indicators will show you when it’s on or off and the appropriate time to start using it after heating it. Besides making tortillas, you can also use this tortilla maker to prepare chapati, Roti, mandarin pancakes, flatbread, and more.
You can get one of these tortilla makers from Amazon at $42.11, which will be delivered right to your doorstep at a small fee, depending on your location. If you want a somewhat bigger electric tortilla press, you can go for the Bentwood 10+-inch tortilla maker, which goes for $54.38 and has the same features as the 8-inch one.
5. Central Coast Woodworks Hardwood Tortilla Press
Wood tortilla makers are rare but are more effective and handier than most people think. They work perfectly like the metal models. This beautiful wood tortilla maker has a unique rectangular-shaped design, a well-furnished surface to prevent sticking and breaking, and it’s heavy enough to make flat and perfectly round tortillas.
It’s designed to last longer since it’s made from hardwood. If you want something unique and wooden for your Tex-Mex cooking at home, then this tortilla maker isn’t the wrong choice. You can find it on Amazon for $119.99.
6. Kook 8-inch Tortilla press
Made from cast iron, expect this tortilla maker to serve for years without failing. Its material is naturally non-stick; hence, you’ll prepare smooth and round tortillas without breaking or sticking on the surface.
It comes with corresponding parchment liners to prevent sticking and breaking, and it’s pre-seasoned with flaxseed oil; hence you can use it immediately it’s delivered.
Its base and handle have undergone more refinement to make this tortilla a rather easy and fast tool to use for various purposes. You can use it to prepare dumplings, arepas, and empanadas. Its only disadvantage is its heaviness (7.25 pounds), which requires more energy to maneuver.
Currently, this tortilla maker isn’t available on Amazon. But you can consider getting one for you once they’re restocked.
How to make a tortilla
Making tortillas is usually super easy. You only need to select which recipe works for you and the type of tortilla you want to prepare. Corn tortillas usually use fewer ingredients than flour tortillas. Flour tortillas are easy to make and hard to break than corn tortillas, but they’re both relatively easy to prepare with the right recipe and presser.
To prepare a corn tortilla, you need masa harina, warm water, and salt to taste. After assembling the ingredients, you need to mix the dough in a mixing bowl by adding a suitable amount of cornflour to it with the appropriate salt amount and whisk.
Then utilize your hand to mix the flour well as you add water to form a tough and firm dough, then let rest for a while before dividing it into medium balls depending on the tortilla size you want. Then use your tortilla maker to press the balls into round flat tortillas and cook on a griddle.
Conclusion
Tortilla-based foods can be extremely enjoyable and easy to prepare with the right cooking tools and ingredients. To enjoy these foods, you need to ensure your tortillas are perfectly cooked to provide the best and tasty wrap.
Tortilla makers provide a faster and efficient way to perfectly shaped tortillas for those tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and quesadillas you love so much. You just need to select a well-built tortilla maker, a simple recipe, and simple instructions, and you’re good to go.
