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I like this press well enough. It works like a charm and sure is pretty but it was way to expensive for what it is and does. I wanted a new press because, at 6", my old one is a bit small and it was making me crazy. So I fell for the hype and spent too much.
I started out pressing masa for tortillas with the bottom of a pyrex pie pan. That worked pretty well but I upgraded for speed. Wasn't that much faster but faster is was.
I though about starting from scratch and getting into the nixtamalization of corn but came up against a wall when searching for a grinder. Hand cranked doesn't work that well and has problems with flaking. The cheapest wet grinder I found was $200.00. And that was cheap. Next was the hand ground using the ancient stone method. First I had to buy a stone which wasn't all that cheap and much more labor intensive than a hand cranked grinder. So I gave up. Fresh masa bought from a local Mexican joint or Masienda for me.
What I've found that does make a difference in pressing a corn tortilla is the plastic used on the press. The thinner the better. Forget the zip lock bags and cut pieces out from plastic grocery store shopping bags. 100% better.
My older stuff with ubiquitous Maseca. As stated earlier, fresh
masa is king but not always convenient so I tried the Masienda which is
where I found the new tortilla press. Maseca has no smell. No odor.
The Masienda has a very strong smell of corn. Night and day those two.
Same ol comal (a lodge cast iron griddle) but a cast iron or carbon steel skillet work just as well as does my electric skillet.
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