The origin of corn occurred in the central region of Mexico through the fusion of plants that grew wild. Corn is considered to have been cultivated approximately 10,000 years B.C. The oldest evidence that we have is from 6,250 years ago, evidence found in the Guila Naquitz cave, in Oaxaca, a few kilometers from Mitla.
The corn husks (Zea mays), traditionally called amero in Colombia, chala in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Uruguay, farfolla in Spain, panca in Peru and totomoxtle in Mexico, is a part of the plant that is highly appreciated in various cultures. from Latin America, where it has many functions: as a wrapper to cook tamales and other foods, or to preserve them, or as food for cattle.
In pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica it was a common material for making ribbons, ropes and other objects. They are also widely used in local Mexican crafts. In Xico, Veracruz, there is a museum dedicated to this product.
Different uses
Culinary use
Traditionally, dried corn husks were used to preserve foods such as fresh butter, cheeses, or piloncillo. The corn husk is used to cook tamales, humitas, mextlapiques or meat, the husk needs to be rehydrated in water until they are flexible again, a process that can last from 15 minutes to several hours, depending on how old it is and how old it is husks dryness.
In Peru, the fresh Husks are used as a traditional culinary tool, in the form of a brush, to spread dressing on anticuchos while they are roasted over a grill fire. It is also used as a wrapper for chapanas, a kind of sweet tamale made with cassava and chancaca dough. In the department of Lambayeque it is used to make panquitas de life, a roasted fish.
Use as a component of cigarettes
In the past, in certain Native American cultures it was common to roll tobacco in dried corn husks. It can also be used as a substitute for tobacco itself. When the corn husks are fresh, they are cut into rectangles, usually with scissors. They are stored in the shade, and when they dry, they are used to roll tobacco and form cigarettes.
In Argentina it is known as a chala cigar. In Uruguay it is also known as naco and is used to smoke rope tobacco, which is made with tobacco rolled in tar forming a long rope.
For this same reason in Mexico, dried corn husks are also used as an alternative to rolling paper for cigarettes since they are not harmful and burn slowly. In Chile they were known as “panca cigarettes” or “husks cigars”, while those exported to Europe were called “Guatemaltecos”.
Use in crafts
Figurines made of corn husks in the Night of Radishes (Oaxaca)
Traditionally in Mexico, corn husks have been used to make handicrafts such as dolls, flowers, birds and other animals, alebrijes, baskets or earrings, among others. These types of crafts are part of the culture of many places in central and southern Mexico. For example, in Xico, Veracruz, crafts of all kinds are made with totomoxtle and there is even a museum dedicated to it.
To use the dried corn husks it is advisable to first soak them. The leaves in the best condition are chosen, soaked and modified according to what you want to do, they can also be painted (water-based paints are recommended instead of oil). Among the materials that may be needed in this type of craft are: thread and needle, wire, brushes, scissors, cotton (to fill) and a lot of creativity.
