It also connects them to their cultural identity. The comal, they say, is a “beautiful, ancient technology that we have access to. Its important for me, as a Mexican-American, to use generational technology in order to preserve my cultural history and identity.” For Chef Vega, nourishing a relationship with the comal is empowering. “Folklore tells us that the woman was the one who would use maíz because we were the ones creating life,” she says. “Were feeding you, giving you the nourishment you need. So to me, the comal, stacks of tortillas, working with masa, period––thats empowerment. We have to have a relationship with our comal.”
If you look at a cast iron pan or a blue carbon steel pan under a microscope, Kalick says, you’ll see craters on its surface. The idea is to fill those craters with a high-heat oil. Because of the carbon content, once these craters begin to fill over time, it creates a non-stick property. This is what Kalick calls a polymerizing process: when you cook with a high-heat oil, or a fatty protein, the oils bind themselves to the surface’s craters as they dissipate, creating a layer of protection that becomes nonstick. There are two kinds of fat you can use to season your blue carbon steel comal, Kalick says. The first is a fatty protein like bacon or pork, “thatll actually kind of naturally start to season the pan for you, because theres just such a high fat content on that.” However, there’s another way to season that’s more commonplace, and accessible to people with varying diets: oil. Made Ins Seasoning Wax contains beeswax, canola oil, and grapeseed oil, and is a perfect companion for curing your comal. However, if you don’t have it at your disposal, Kalick suggests taking an oil with a high smoke point and dabbing it on a paper towel, rubbing it across the comal’s surface evenly, then turning the heat up on a stove or baking it upside down in a 400 degree oven, letting the oil heat up until it starts to smoke and evaporate, or, polymerize. Because blue carbon steel has smaller craters than cast iron, remember that a little oil will go a long way. Kalick recommends you do this two or three times, which will roughly take about 30 to 45 minutes, resulting in an optimal base layer to get started. “Then as youre cooking, no matter what youre making,” Kalick asserts, “its going to pick up more and more seasoning as you go. [Becoming] more nonstick, more seasoned and more protected.” Check out our How to Season Comal video for more:
Like cast iron, the more you season carbon steel over time, the more nonstick the surface of the pan becomes. But unlike cast iron, it’s much more lightweight, you can move it around your kitchen with ease. And because it’s not as heavy as cast iron, instead of needing to wait about ten minutes for your surface to be evenly warmed up, it takes mere minutes to fully heat a blue carbon steel comal. Tortillas in particular need to be cooked at high heat, so carbon steel is the best choice: you wont have to wait around for several minutes to get good heat distribution.
Article by Andrea Aliseda Photography by Graydon Herriott unless otherwise noted Round, sturdy, hot — at the center of Mexican and Central American cuisine is an essential Indigenous cooking utensil, the comal. The comal, which comes from the Nahuatl word comalli (known in Venezuela as the budare), has been used since the Mesoamerican period to cook, toast, roast, blister, and puff. From the warmth of the home kitchen stove to the burners of restaurants and corner stands, whenever fire stokes this flat, round griddle, it’s a sign of the meal to come. The first comal was made of barro (traditional Mexican clay earthenware), like so many of the original cooking tools in Mesoamerican gastronomy. But over time they’ve been adapted to other materials like cast iron, copper, metal, ceramic and more, while retaining their primary shape and function. Masienda and Made In’s collaborative Comal features blue carbon steel for a sleek, lightweight take on this ancient cooking technology.
Photo by Noah Forbes NY-based chef Tony Ortiz uses a barro comal at home to cook their tortillas on, or toast them until they’re doraditos, or golden. Comales are so intrinsic to Mexican cuisine that they are a permanent fixture on stovetops, and are used daily to fire up quick quesadillas or cook a stack of fresh-made tortillas, tlacoyos, tetelas and more masa creations. They can also be used to roast, toast or scorch ingredients like tomatoes, chiles, and seeds, an instrumental step in creating dishes with more richly flavored characteristics. “I mostly use a comal to slow roast my ingredients that I will be using in more complex dishes such as moles, sauces or salsas,” says Chef Ortiz. They use their comal weekly, and say that it helps them feel connected to their family. “I grew up watching my grandmother toast or cook many food items on a comal, so it helps me feel a familiar comfort as well.”
Comal is a Spanish word of Nahuatl origin (“comalli”) used in Mexico and Central America since ancient times to refer to a traditional kitchen utensil used for baking tortillas.
Originally the comal was large and made of clay and had to be cured with lime. With the passage of time, the material of the comales evolved, mainly because the clay turns out to be more fragile and difficult to transport, in addition to that it must be cured.
The word comal, comes from the Nahuatl comalli, it is a basic utensil of the kitchen in Mexico and Central America, it began to be used since pre-Hispanic times, originally it was a circle of unglazed clay, it was placed on three stones called ween, in the lower part the embers of the fire were found and it served as an intermediary to heat food, but especially to prepare tortillas, so many experts consider it a basic piece in the history of Mexican gastronomy.
Currently you can find them made of sheet metal and even iron, in different shapes and sizes. There are even some stoves that already have a comal or griddle integrated in their design, as you prefer it is a basic tool in the kitchen, you can place it on firewood, charcoal or the stove burners, to cook or heat tortillas, toast seeds, roast chiles, prepare tlayudas, tostadas, quesadillas and more typical recipes of Mexican cuisine.
Perfect Tortilla Pan – As Seen On TV
Can you cook tortillas in a comal Pan?
Use the press to prepare the tortillas before cooking them in the comal pan. The heavy-duty cast iron comal pan heats up quickly, retaining and distributing the heat well. Their large size makes them the perfect option for families, as the 10.5-inch pan provides more cooking service than most other similar pans.
What is the best Comal Pan?
he Lodge 10.5-inch cast iron griddle is the best comal pan for most home cooks. It’s a perfect size and weight, plus the heavy-duty construction means it will last forever. And, as a bonus, it’s the least expensive option you’re going to find. This pan is made from solid cast iron. Making it heavy and durable.
How do you cook tortillas in a pan?
To cook a tortilla in a pan, start by heating a tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, place the tortilla in the pan and cook for about 30 seconds. Then, use a spatula to flip the tortilla over and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove the tortilla from the pan and repeat the process with the remaining tortillas.
Can You reheat tortillas in a comal Pan?
If you’re reheating already-cooked tortillas, turn the heat down to low and place a stack of them (no more than 5) in the middle of the comal pan. Turn the tortillas every 30 seconds or so until you’ve heated them through. As mentioned, you can use the comal pan for various other types of foods.