Tortilla de rescoldo facts for kids
Making tortillas de rescoldo
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| Type | Bread |
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| Place of origin | Chile, Argentina |
| Main ingredients | Wheat flour |
Tortilla de rescoldo is a special kind of flatbread from Chile and Northern Argentina. It's often made without yeast, meaning it doesn't rise much. This bread was traditionally cooked right in the hot coals of a campfire or fireplace. It was a popular food for people traveling in the countryside. Today, you can often find it sold as street food, especially by vendors called palomitas.
Contents
A Taste of History
This unique bread has been around since the time of the Spanish colonizers. They used it as a simple meal to carry when traveling. It was a bit like an old type of bread called pan subcinerario.
Who Sells Them?
You might see vendors called palomitas selling these tortillas. These sellers are often women dressed in white. They sell the tortillas in busy places like train stations. You can find them especially in towns like Antihue and Laraquete.
What's Inside?
Making a tortilla de rescoldo is quite simple. The main ingredient is wheat flour. Other common ingredients include lard, butter, or vegetable shortening. Salt is also added for flavor. Some recipes might even include a little baking soda or yeast.
How It's Made and Eaten
First, all the ingredients are mixed together. This creates a soft dough. The dough is then shaped into flat, round disks. These disks can be different sizes, from about 20 centimeters (8 inches) to 50 centimeters (20 inches) wide.
Cooking with Coals
To cook them, hot embers are pulled out from a fire. The tortillas are then placed directly onto these warm coals. This traditional cooking method gives them their special taste.
Serving Up Your Tortilla
Once cooked, tortillas de rescoldo are often served with butter. You can also enjoy them with other local sauces or spreads.
Unique Flavors
The way these tortillas are cooked gives them a very distinct taste. You can often taste flavors of smoke, ash, and a bit of char. This is what makes them so unique and loved.
Different Kinds of Tortillas
There are some cool regional differences in how these tortillas are made.
- In Antihue, some tortillas include pork as an ingredient.
- In Laraquete, they make a special version with chuchitas. These are small, local shellfish.
Keeping It Safe
Today, there are rules about how tortillas de rescoldo can be sold. To make sure they are safe, the government requires them to be cooked in ovens. They can no longer be cooked directly on open fires for sale. Also, if they contain chuchitas, the shellfish must be preserved in vinegar. These rules help keep people safe. However, they do change the traditional taste and feel of the tortillas.
See also
In Spanish: Tortilla de rescoldo para niños
