While corn tamales started as a Mexican dish, the dish has spread throughout Latin America. These corn cakes are wrapped in husks or leaves and are usually served with meat inside of them, often pork or chicken. The tamales are labor intensive so making them can take a number of hours.
Where It All Started
The corn tamale was first invented around 5,000 BC. There is evidence that the Aztecs served tamales to the Spaniards upon their arrival to what is now Mexico. In the beginning, tamales were generally served with beans, various meats and an assortment of chilies.
Types in Tamales
There are various types of tamales, large and small, filled with many different ingredients. The different types of tamales are characterized by where they originated. For example, the Oaxacan is named for that region and it's a larger variety that's packed in a banana leave. The Monterrey is made with thicker dough, is smaller in size and is filled with red chilies and meat.
The Early To-Go Food
Historically, the beauty of tamales was that they could be cooked over the open flame and they were portable. Wrapped in all sorts of wrappings including banana leaves, dry corn husks, live corn husks, or whatever was available, they were a food that could carried distances without going bad because of both the outer wrapping and the corn cake coating that kept whatever was cooked inside fresh.
Tamale Regions
Over time the tamale has spread all over Central America and into the southwestern portion of the United States. It often has a different name in other countries including the nacatamal in Nicaragua, the bollo in Columbia and the tamal in Cuba.
The Word Tamale
The word tamalii was first spoken by the Aztecs in their native Nahuati language. The word means wrapped food which is perfect descriptor for the wrapped corn cake. This how we know that the tamale is truly old as it was named by an ancient civilization.
Tags: corn cake, corn husks, filled with, served with, they were
