corn tortilla problems

[sionkali]

Hello everyone!

I think I might have done something wrong with my corn tortillas today. Are they supposed to be in pieces like tortilla chips? Or are they supposed to be solid for rolling things like falafel and veggies inside?

After dehydrating the two sheets for about 3 hours they looked all broken and not solid. Could I have spread them too thin or too thick?

This might be the FIRST thing that I enjoy eating from the dehydrator, so for it to come out not quite right AGAIN (my fourth or fifth raw recipe attempt) makes me even more discouraged about becoming Raw.

Any ideas?

Thanks so much!! :)

[Crystal Rose]

Dear Sionkali,
Please do not be discouraged. I found the tortillas to be the hardest thing until I figured out what I was doing wrong. Most of the other recipes are so much "easier" until you get the hang of it. But please don't let this one be the barometer of how it's gonna go for you fixing these recipes.

Possible tips:
Buy Organic Frozen Corn packages from Trader Joe's, and let them thaw for an hour or two before using. The rest of the recipe must be followed to a "T" and, yes, it also matters how thick you lay it on the teflex sheet (must have a teflex sheet for this or it won't work -- that was the other thing I did wrong at first besides trying to use "fresh" corn). It's hard to describe the thickness over the e-mail, but I believe 1/8 of an inch to 1/4 of an inch. But if you get the rest of it right, this part has more wiggle room. Just imagine how you'd like your tortillas to look, and the dehydrator isn't gonna shrink it (as much as an oven would). I think on Alissa's DVD she goes over it -- that might help too (watching it). At any rate, she explains on the DVD how to make it in a rectangular shape and then cut down the middle. Again, it's hard to explain without actually seeing it. But if you're having trouble understanding what I'm saying, I'll keep trying to explain it.
And, believe me, once they work for you, you'll swear by them. They're great!

And please don't be discouraged!!! What other recipes have you tried?
The two pastas and the mock salmon pate are really easy and really delicious! The salmon pate can be put on romaine lettuce leaves, and it's a delicious snack.
:o
Let me know if this helps.
Sincerely,
Vicki
Certified Living on Live Food Teacher
www.rawteacher.com/vickirosenthal

[sweetgoddess]

Vicki, is that you!! I am so delighted to see you here. Big hugs and a big, warm welcome.

sionkali, Vicki gave you some great tips, and here is a picture to give you a visual. Maybe you will be able to determine the thickness from seeing them. (It's Alissa making them)
Many Blessings~
Carmel

[Jo-anne]

thanks Sweetgoddess for the pics, I actually tried making the corn chips today but they didn't turn out. I have made other recipes which were great but somehow I too had problems with the corn chips. My main problem was with blending the corn, I used fresh corn as per Alissa's recipe but I think the blender bowl was too large and so the blade is spinning around but the corn is stuck to the sides of the bowl, I was never able to get the corn to mash up, I kept stopping the FP and push the corn back into the bowl, but as soon as I started to process the corn it would stick to the sides of the bowl, very frustrating :( I was wondering would it work if I tried using my blender to whip up the corn instead, I think it would do a better job than my food processor.

Any ideas would be very much appreciated?
thank you

[Crystal Rose]

Hi, Carmel! Yeah, it's me, Vicki.
Great idea to post those pictures -- I'm sure it helps. You're such an angel. Thanks again for a warm welcome!!!
I think I'm going to make the enchiladas today. Yum!!!! :)
talk to you later!
Vicki
Hugs right back to you!

[sionkali]

Dear Sionkali,
Please do not be discouraged. I found the tortillas to be the hardest thing until I figured out what I was doing wrong. Most of the other recipes are so much "easier" until you get the hang of it. But please don't let this one be the barometer of how it's gonna go for you fixing these recipes.

Possible tips:
Buy Organic Frozen Corn packages from Trader Joe's, and let them thaw for an hour or two before using. The rest of the recipe must be followed to a "T" and, yes, it also matters how thick you lay it on the teflex sheet (must have a teflex sheet for this or it won't work -- that was the other thing I did wrong at first besides trying to use "fresh" corn). It's hard to describe the thickness over the e-mail, but I believe 1/8 of an inch to 1/4 of an inch. But if you get the rest of it right, this part has more wiggle room. Just imagine how you'd like your tortillas to look, and the dehydrator isn't gonna shrink it (as much as an oven would). I think on Alissa's DVD she goes over it -- that might help too (watching it). At any rate, she explains on the DVD how to make it in a rectangular shape and then cut down the middle. Again, it's hard to explain without actually seeing it. But if you're having trouble understanding what I'm saying, I'll keep trying to explain it.
And, believe me, once they work for you, you'll swear by them. They're great!

And please don't be discouraged!!! What other recipes have you tried?
The two pastas and the mock salmon pate are really easy and really delicious! The salmon pate can be put on romaine lettuce leaves, and it's a delicious snack.
:o
Let me know if this helps.
Sincerely,
Vicki
Certified Living on Live Food Teacher
www.rawteacher.com/vickirosenthal

Thank you so much Vicki!!

Maybe I used the corn too soon, right out of the freezer and still frozen, so that might have cause them to look weird. I also had to add some water to it so the food processor could make it smooth (I had the same problem Jo-anne seems to be having with the corn moving up the sides of the bowl). I also could have just spread it too thin. I put the whole batch on two Teflex sheets; is it supposed to just be on one or can it be split up? I'll definitely have to watch Alissa's DVD again to see how she does it.

And thanks for the words of encouragement. So far I've tried the Key Lime Pie, Chili from "Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine", Rye bread (my berries had gone bad though), Fudge Balls (I don't think I made these correctly), and the Tortillas. I've decided to just try her four week meal plan to get me started, so I'm not scrambling every day for what to make. That will also limit me to food shopping once a week, which will be great for my bank account (I love to food shop for some reason).

Sweetgoddess, thank you so much for the pictures!! They helped a whole lot!! I'm a very visual person, so actually seeing what it's supposed to look like before and after gives me an idea about what I might have done wrong. :)

I hope someone will show up in my area soon for Raw Food Chef classes; I could really use the knowledge and the help!!

[Sharon in Colorado]

I'd throw in a little ground up flax seeds as a binding agent. Not too much to change the flavor, maybe a couple of tbsps.

Here's another tip: the Pampered Chef makes a 'handy scraper' which I use for all my cracker spreading. It is a hand-held wavy scraper that looks like a squeegie. It's only a few bucks, and so worth it. You get a smooth cracker with clean edges.

I use the wavy side, not the squeegie, to smooth out the dough, and then the hard edge to finish the edges of the cracker so they are in a straight line.

People in my raw support group were getting frustrated that the crackers weren't coming out quite right and when they started using the scraper, they had success.

http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/catalog/product.jsp?productId=186&categoryCode=SP

[Crystal Rose]

Dear Sionkali,

Yeah, there's definitely a trick to it, and it takes practice. I thought this was the tortilla for the enchiladas. If that is the case, only one teflex sheet, but spread almost over the whole thing. I just made them again today, and it definitely takes practice, because I think I rolled them too soon. But, each time I make them, they get better.

Another really easy recipe that I recently discovered is Alissa's recipe for broccoli soup -- YUM! I also like the cheese sauce which is part of the recipe for her pizza -- but I use it for other things. Tastes great on flax seed crackers.

What area of the country are you from?

I sincerely hope all of our suggestions have helped. Let us know how you're doing.

Sincerely,
vicki, aka crystal rose

[sweetgoddess]

Sionkali, you are very welcome. And as Vicki said, it only makes one tray! See how Alissa has it in the picture? That is the whole recipe.So if you spread it onto 2 sheets, it was definitely too thin!

As far as the Food Prep and Chef classes etc in your area, if you get a group together someone may be able to travel to you. Otherwise, as it stands, you can travel to them. If you ever get the chance, go for it. You learn so much.

So, are you going to give the tortillas another try with one tray, usig Vicki's tips? If you do, let us know how it turns out for you.

Warmly~
Carmel

[sweetgoddess]

Joanne, it does sound like your processor bowl is too big. I have made the corn chips many times and loved them. So, if you double the recipe it will be easier for your bowl size. Or as you suggested, blend it. I have never done that, but I say go for it~ :)

Good luck!
Warmly~
Carmel

[rawpriestess]

also, you can simply eat the corn chips with salsa, or you can remake them, using the old chips, like this:

Take the old chips that turned out too thin, break thim into smallish pieces about 1" square or so, and toss in your FP, add some liquid, I think the corn tortiallas call for orange juice, so add 2 T of that, or how ever much you need to get it moving, once it is all shmushed up again into a paste, then re-spread it on your teflex sheet, and re-dehydrate it, I've done this countless times when I made something, uh, er, that wasn't perfect, and yet, I didn't want to toss it, or eat it the way it was, this works with crackers that aren't spicy enough, breads that are too thin and crumbly, pretty much anything.

Good luck, You've already got some great ideas, basically it's probably the too thin spread, as that is the biggest challenge I have found with making crackers and breads, getting the thickness perfect. but it can be done, -----
eventually.

[RawTruth]

It might help to know that the picture on the right is the tortilla being spread and the picture on the left is after it's dehydrated a while and it's being cut into two pieces.

The most important thing to know is that it is enough for ONE teflex sheet -- it will NOT be the thickness of tortillas that you buy; it is quite a bit thicker than that. The term "tortilla" can be deceiving -- it's the dough that holds the enchilada filling in, (or anything else you want to roll up in it) but, other than that, it doesn't resemble cooked tortillas.

As Vicki mentioned, you can let the corn soften a bit -- but it should still have ice crystals in it. For me, two hours would be too long. I would not suggest adding flax to it, and, know that you need to process it a loooooong time to get it smooth. Just bear with the process, scraping the dough down or around whenever it's needed. It WILL become smooth.

[Jo-anne]

Everyone's advice has been very helpful, thank you! I will try making them again and see how I go.

[Sweet lips]

Please note:

If you do not have telfex, you may use parchment paper - which works very well.

I have made them twice now and they have been great. I use my corn still frozen and I spread it out to about 1/4 inch - wishing you well.

[Ariannah]

Sionkali, you are very welcome. And as Vicki said, it only makes one tray! See how Alissa has it in the picture? That is the whole recipe.So if you spread it onto 2 sheets, it was definitely too thin!

I wish I'd read this *before* making the tortillas! Looks like for my family I will have to make at least 3 recipes, though. But the too thin ones are still salvageable and I can still "roll up" filling veggies in it.

But I'm enjoying making them for the family, and will make it often!