- Title: Chase for tastier tortillas starts with age-old 'Mexican gold'
- Date: 7th April 2017
- Summary: OTZOLOTEPEC, STATE OF MEXICO, MEXICO (RECENT - FEBRUARY, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF HARVESTED CORN FIELDS CORN FARMER SELECTING CROP VARIOUS OF CORN FARMERS SELECTING CORN OF DIFFERENT VARIETIES VARIOUS OF CORN FARMER TAKING KERNELS OFF CORN COBS REUTERS JOURNALIST SPEAKING WITH CORN FARMER, CLEMENTE ENRIQUEZ, SAYING: "I've been growing these for years. I like the size of the seed and the colour, and the taste of the tortillas you can make with them. Because not all corn is the same or has the same flavour." BLACK CORN KERNELS JOURNALIST SPEAKING WITH FARMER, PEDRO PATONI OLMEDO (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) FARMER, PEDRO PATONI OLMEDO, SAYING: "You harvest and then you have to pick and choose the best ears and take your seeds out again and plant it again. We don't have to buy treated seeds." FARMERS WITH THEIR GRAIN MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (FILE - NOVEMBER, 2016) (REUTERS) DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF MEXICO'S NATIONAL SERVICE FOR THE INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION OF SEEDS, JULIO CESAR PEREZ, DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF MEXICO'S NATIONAL SERVICE FOR THE INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION OF SEEDS, JULIO CESAR PEREZ, SAYING: "What we aim for is an increase in the export of these grains and that this will incentivize growers. That's to say, there's a more certain market, we're going to get a better return and this alone will incentivize them to continue to conserve these varieties as they are and then to produce more and third, create more income." TEXCOCO, STATE OF MEXICO, MEXICO (FILE) (REUTERS) SEED RESEARCHERS ENTERING SEED BANK VARIOUS OF SEED RESEARCHERS CULTIVATING VARIETIES IN A LABORATORY MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (FILE - OCTOBER, 2016) (REUTERS) COOK STIRRING POT IN THE KITCHEN OF THE PUJOL RESTAURANT VARIOUS OF PUJOL'S HEAD CHEF, FRANCISCO IBANEZ, SHOWING THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CORN HE USES IN HIS KITCHEN (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PUJOL'S HEAD CHEF, FRANCISCO IBANEZ, SAYING: "As far as quality in texture, flavour, it's going to be a native variety which is what we look for too. I think that if you look deeper into it, it has to do with identity. Looking for native corn is about identity." CONTAINERS FULL OF CORN IN THE KITCHEN VARIOUS OF COOKS PREPARING DIFFERENT KINDS OF CORN (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PUJOL'S HEAD CHEF, FRANCISCO IBANEZ, SAYING: "It's really curious, because every grain has a different flavour. Some are sweeter. Some have a richer flavour after nixtamalization (preparation). It's very curious. Each kind of corn is different and comes out different after the nixtamalization (preparation) process." TEXCOCO, STATE OF MEXICO, MEXICO (FILE) (REUTERS) GENERAL OF A CORN FIELD OTZOLOTEPEC, STATE OF MEXICO, MEXICO (RECENT - FEBRUARY, 2017) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) AGRICULTURAL STUDENT AND CORN FARMER, OCTAVIO TEJEDA, SAYING: "The young people, me in this case, are pushing this new tradition of keeping our traditions alive and rescuing the varieties of corn that are important to us. You could say we have Mexican gold." MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (FILE) (REUTERS) BUSHELS OF CORN BEING DELIVERED TO A MARKET CLOSE-UP OF AN EAR OF CORN VARIOUS OF A MAN CLEANING CORN
- Embargoed: 21st April 2017 06:24
- Keywords: Mexico corn maize farmers tortillas landrace
- Location: MEXICO CITY; OTZOLOTEPEC, STATE OF MEXICO; TEXCOCO, STATE OF MEXICO
- City: MEXICO CITY; OTZOLOTEPEC, STATE OF MEXICO; TEXCOCO, STATE OF MEXICO
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Commodities Markets,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA0016BEEO8Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Under a scorching sun, Clemente Enriquez tips his wide-brimmed hat up as he proudly displays in an open palm the conico corn seeds he plants on his small plot in the rolling hills outside the village of Otzolotepec.
"I've been growing these for years. I like the size of the seed and the colour, and the taste of the tortillas you can make with them," the 78-year-old farmer said on the edge of a field about 40 miles (64 km) west of Mexico City.
A growing army of "heirloom corn" fans, from celebrity chef Rick Bayless to food giants like ConAgra to a group of dogged Mexican scientists, are aiming to unlock the ancient ingredient to bring tortillas with better flavour to the high-end foodie market.
They see a huge profit to be made in higher-margin tortillas and chips sold at restaurants like Bayless' Frontera Grill in Chicago and Enrique Olvera's Cosme in New York, and mass marketed at upmarket retailers like Whole Foods.
It can also boost the incomes of the poor farmers in Mexico who have been cultivating traditional maize for millennia.
Several of nearly 60 native varieties, or landraces, often grow alongside corn's ancestor teocintle, a skimpy plant with a few meager kernels that Mexican farmers transformed in a dizzying series of improvements over some 8,000 years.
Centuries later, their distant descendants see a bright future for the traditional grains if obstacles can be overcome.
Mexican scientists are close to crafting a first-ever fair trade certification for traditional corn farmers, similar to certifications for organic coffee or chocolate.
While details are still being hammered out, organizers say a civic association or panel of experts will provide the voluntary certification.
Another hurdle is the farmers themselves, many of whom still have some learning to do about the value of their crops and then try to ease their reliance on shady middle-men buyers known as coyotes who have long been their main sales channel and could be the losers if the crop's value is enhanced.
If successful, exports of Mexico's gourmet maize could start to reverse a flood of cheap U.S. yellow corn imports that have pushed more than 1 million Mexican farmers off their fields since the enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994.
U.S. tortilla consumption is seen doubling to $30 billion by 2025, according to market research firm IndexBox.
Once the landrace maize certification is off the ground, organizers say it will provide farmers with a document that details the specific variety they grow and the traditional farming methods they use.
It would also restrict sales to surplus supply to prevent farmers from selling what they would normally set aside for their families and animals, forcing them to turn to more processed foods in their own diets.
Last season, Mexico produced around 24 million tonnes of corn, or about 4 percent of global output, and native corn surpluses are estimated at as much as 5 million tonnes annually.
At the higher end, some heirloom varieties can already fetch around three times the price of conventional corns.
That has farmers like 22-year-old Octavio Tejeda optimistic he can cash in on growing demand from around the world for tastier tortillas and preserve the strains.
"The young people, me in this case, are pushing this new tradition of keeping our traditions alive and rescuing the varieties of corn that are important to us. You could say we have Mexican gold," Tejeda told Reuters. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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