Aaron and Christie Harris are doing things the old school way. The really old school way, and it has become a phenomenal success beyond even their wildest dreams. The Harris family is the team behind the amazing new enterprise Molino Tortilleria, and they have taken the St. Joseph Farmers Market by storm.
For the second consecutive week, Molino Tortilleria sold out Saturday in virtual record time. Less than an hour in both the opening week of the Farmers Market and this past weekend, even in spite of threatening weather, another rapid sell out. The good news is, even after the first week, they launched a special order process so that you don’t miss out on the chance to get your fill of their outstanding product of hand-made tortillas.
The story of Molino starts the same way most great adventures do: People in search of something great. In their case, great tacos. They wondered, however, what makes a great taco? As founders of the Molino Tortilleria, Aaron & Christie began to ask themselves that very question. Is it the filling? Is it the toppings? Salsas? What about the tortilla? As they reflected back on their own greatest taco experiences, the corn tortilla was never the hero. They admit on their website, “If we’re being honest the corn tortilla was usually the least notable ingredient when thinking about the great tacos we have had. But how could something so ubiquitous with Mexican cuisine and culture be so….well, tasteless?”
After researching and reading everything they could find about corn tortillas the Harris family was surprised to learn what top Mexican and American chefs thought about the state of tortillas and corn in the US. They learned about the history of tortillas, the shift away from the traditional process of Nixtamalization and how most Americans had never even tasted a traditional corn tortilla, including themselves. Aaron says, “That hit hard. Collectively we have eaten thousands of corn tortillas. Some of us growing up in Mexican families and eating tacos, sopes and tamales on a regular basis. How could it be?!”
Upon learning all of that, Aaron began to search out a local Tortilleria that was still milling tortillas the traditional way and again was shocked to find that only a handful of rogue business owners in the US were keeping the tradition alive. So, he, being a maker at heart, decided to begin milling his own.
Aaron says, “The moment I first tasted a true fresh nixtamal tortilla was kind of a watershed moment for me personally. I was in such disbelief that I had never questioned why I never really truly enjoyed corn tortillas as much as I felt I should but now it was so clear. I felt cheated and excited all at the same time.” The next couple months lead to many hours of research, testing and of course plenty of tacos.
It didn’t take long for word to spread among his friends and family. Aaron says, “Seeing the way people responded to the tortillas and even more so to the story and history, we knew we had to do something to help keep the traditions alive, so we decided to jump in and try our hand at production on a larger scale.”
Thus was born Molino Tortilleria. They says, “At Molino we believe in doing our part to create the world we want to live in. We want to live in a world with great food.” They add, “Our tortillas are produced through the natural process of Nixtamalization — cooking whole dried corn kernels in lime treated water — then the corn is stone ground into masa for tortillas. This process has been used by Mesoamerican cultures for thousands of years – and for good reason. Nixtamalized corn has many health benefits when compared to untreated corn. It removes toxins, imparts calcium, activates amino acids and vitamin B3 while also freeing trapped niacin found naturally in the corn allowing our bodies to absorb the nutrients more readily.”
Aaron tells us that most mass produced tortillas sold in the United States are made using a hybrid method that dries the corn and grinds it into a powder to extend the shelf life. That makes transporting and selling the product to mass market easier, but the loss of nutritious elements and flavors are too great to ignore.”
The Harris search for a better tortilla led to creation of Molino Tortilleria, which currently has only a single distribution point through the St. Joseph Farmers Market on Saturdays in the summer. They are also selling to some Food Truck purveyors in the region, and due to the huge demand at the open market have begun to take orders in advance for delivery at the Farmers Market each Saturday.
To pre-order, click the link below and then the tab “Where to Buy” to be taken to an order form:
