Comments on: Making tortilla chips

By: GadgetBoy

GadgetBoy — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:24:47 +0000

I have done this many times…

You should try these with a hummus – I personally like a nice roasted pepper hummus. You can buy this in the supermarket or make your own (although you will need a food processor). http://tinyurl.com/384ocf

By: Simple in France

Simple in France — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:32:40 +0000

Jacob, your salsa comment has disturbed me all weekend, but now I see you were canning and understand better. I always make fresh salsa, which you could probably also freeze . . .I also see no reason to remove the tomato skins, but have never canned tomatoes.

Two recipes easily made in the blender from some culinary espionage I did in Mexico:

Salsa boracha:
6-12 dried red peppers (the kind you find in the Mexican spice sections of the supermarket).
3-4 tomatoes cut in quarters
2 cloves garlic
Salt to taste
1/4 cup of chicken broth (or water . . )
Blend.

Avocado/Tomatillo salsa:
4 tomatillos cut into quarters (taste is better if you sear them in a pan but that’s optional)
1 avocado (obviously remove the pit and the skin)
juice of 1 lemon
a small bunch of cilantro if you want
1/4 onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup chicken broth(or water)
Blend

Ok, I’m glad I’ve got that off my chest–the thought of you and DW eating store bought salsa was upsetting me.

By: Holme

Holme — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:34:02 +0000

Perhaps I should update that I just made tortillas from scratch, using this recipe: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Own-Tortillas
The results were pretty good and the chips were even better

By: Holme

Holme — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:21:22 +0000

Thanks for the great post (and the great comments on salsa). I’ll try this right now

By: George Carlson

George Carlson — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:53:54 +0000

You can also make your own tortillas. Just mix corn meal with water to about the consistency of pancake batter and cook like a pancake until it is dry (or cook even longer and it turns into a no-oil chip).

By: George

George — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:12:39 +0000

Jacob – canning is a large production operation, so make nothing less than a half dozen quart jars at a time. Best salsa is always fresh rather than canned, so for small batches, it takes no more than 20 minutes.

By: childfreelife

childfreelife — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:05:36 +0000

–well you have to score the skin in quarters first–then put them in the ice water.

By: childfreelife

childfreelife — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:04:56 +0000

To skin tomatoes fast, you put them in ice water for five minutes, then their skins fall right off in your hands.

By: childfreelife

childfreelife — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:03:41 +0000

Making cooked salsa is not really worth it if you buy the tomatoes fresh. They just cook down so small that it is just too expensive.

However, to make fresh salsa, you can just cut up two-3 tomatoes, one jalapeno, 1/2-1 onion, and then either squeeze lime juice on, or use a teaspoon of vinegar then salt and pepper to taste. That’s the base, you can add anything else you like in salsa: corn, black beans, bell peppers, cilantro.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:14:12 +0000

As for the salsa making time, we were canning them. Skinning the tomatoes took more of the time.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:12:59 +0000

@20smoney – Probably just compare by weight. DW says homemade tastes better. I’m more agnostic and I would say they taste differently.

By: Spork Eye

Spork Eye — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:08:05 +0000

“Some kind of food grade oil, … it doesn’t matter”

You, friend, need to try beef tallow or lard. Then it will start to matter. Mmmmmm.

By: 20smoney

20smoney — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:48:46 +0000

What is the estimated cost benefit of making your own tortilla chips vs. buying a bag of Tostitos?

By: Mo

Mo — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:10:10 +0000

You can cut the tortillas very efficiently by securing a large knife in a vertical position. Then grab a stack of tortillas with the right hand at the 3 o’clock position and left hand at the 9 o’clock position and push the stack into the blade to cut it in half. Repeat the process with the halves to get 1/4s.

As for salsa, my wife makes an incredible salsa with a bunch of beans, peppers, tomatoes, onions, and cilantro (among other things!)… If we split the bowl of salsa, calorically speaking it is essentially a meal. It’s reasonably nutritious with baked chips, but the sodium content is a little high.

By: Seth Miller

Seth Miller — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:43:50 +0000

2 hours?!? You may need to post your next attempt to get feedback

By: jacqjolie

jacqjolie — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:32:08 +0000

I think for a sweet treat, you could apply a bit of butter, some cinnamon and sugar. My mom used to make pie cookies from the leftover pie dough this way – they were always a big hit.
I’ve also done the same with pitas.

By: Debbie M

Debbie M — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:26:11 +0000

You could also use scissors to cut the tortillas.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:22:59 +0000

I guess we need to reattempt the salsa. Last time was 3 small jars for two hours of work.

By: Simple in France

Simple in France — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:19:58 +0000

Yeah–I agree, with executioner salsa-wise. And it can be a good deal if you’re in a CSA already for your veggies or if you have a salsa garden (which I once had the luxury of growing . . .).

As for the chips–I concur with your method, except that sometimes I just put the whole tortilla in the oven brushed with oil, lemon and spices. Then I break them afterward . . .it seems like less work to me than cutting, but maybe it’s all in my head. With this method, you can also make tostadas.

But those were my habits in CA. Since in France if I want respectable tortillas I have to make my own, I don’t make a lot of chips here–I just eat the fresh tortillas.

By: Executioner

Executioner — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:56:19 +0000

You obviously have never tried my salsa.