Heirloom corn

Heirloom corn, in Mexico usually called maíz nativo or maíz criollo, refers to the open-pollinated native maize varieties and races that farmers have selected over millennia. They supply the masa for much of Mexico's traditional tortillas.

Origin

Maize is a grass, Zea mays. Most authorities place its domestication in Mesoamerica, with the Tehuacán Valley in Puebla and the Valley of Oaxaca among proposed sites; Meteored's summary of current knowledge puts domestication from teosinte about 9,000 years ago. The cultivated plant depends on people to spread, since its kernels stay locked in the husked ear. The field where it grows is the milpa.

Diversity

Larousse describes criollo varieties as the most widely used in Mexico, especially for tortillas, and lists dozens of races including Bolita, Cacahuacintle, Chalqueño, Cónico, Olotillo, Tabloncillo, Tuxpeño and Zapalote. Ears range from about 7 cm in Arrocillo Amarillo to about 32 cm in Comiteco. Mexico is generally said to have more than 60 native races, each adapted to particular climates and altitudes: Zapalote Chico of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is used for totopos, Chalqueño of the Valley of Mexico for tortillas and atoles, Palomero Toluqueño for popcorn. CIMMYT, based in Texcoco, holds more than 20,000 maize samples.

Color

White maize dominates tortillas along the Gulf, in the southeast and in central Mexico; yellow maize turns deeper yellow in nixtamal and is common for tortillas in the center; blue maize is prized around Mexico City and in neighboring states.

Conservation

Larousse describes the knowledge of how to use each variety as shared human heritage, and both it and Meteored note pressure on native races from genetically modified maize and industrial agriculture.

Reviews

See also

• Masa
• Nixtamalization
• Corn tortilla
• Blue corn tortilla
• Huitlacoche

References

1. "Maíz". Larousse Cocina (Diccionario enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana). Retrieved 2026-10-10.
2. "Más de 60 razas de maíz nativas en México: así se adaptan al clima y la altitud". Meteored México. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
3. "Nixtamalization: An ingenious solution for healthier maize-based diets". CGIAR. Retrieved 2026-10-10.