Tortilladora

A tortilladora is a machine that presses, cuts and cooks corn tortillas in a continuous process; developed in Mexico in the first half of the twentieth century and perfected by the inventor Fausto Celorio, it made the modern tortillería and the cheap, abundant tortilla of the taco stand possible.

Early machines

Before machines, tortillas were patted or pressed by hand and cooked one at a time on a comal, a task that Xataka México says could take a home cook five or six hours each morning. Mechanization began in 1904, when Everardo Rodríguez and Luis Romero built a device that rolled dough out and carried it to the griddle. According to México Desconocido, its tortillas came out square and never caught on, because buyers found the shape strange and poorly suited to tacos. Xataka lists further steps over the following two decades: a lever press with two plates in 1905, a roller-and-cutter machine by Romero around 1910, a continuous oven in 1915, and gas- and oil-fired models around 1920 and 1921.

Fausto Celorio

The machine that spread across Mexico is credited to Fausto Celorio, a native of Veracruz. Xataka dates his roller system for cutting and transporting tortillas to 1947 and reports that early sales were slow, about one machine a month, until a partnership with the engineer Alfonso Gándara of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional improved the texture of the tortillas and sales climbed to around 40 machines a week. México Desconocido describes his design as combining pressure rollers, a conveyor chain and a comal over which the tortilla turns, producing round tortillas. Later models improved gas efficiency and output; Xataka cites a 1963 duplex model rated at 132 kilograms an hour and a 1995 model with electronic ignition. Celorio died in 1996 at 87, credited with more than 150 inventions.

Impact

The tortilladora turned tortilla making from a household chore into a neighborhood business and fed the growth of the taquería. Gastrolab links the mid-century spread of fixed and mobile taquerías to the tortilla machine together with commercial refrigeration. Xataka reports that more than 100,000 machines bearing Celorio's name have been exported.

Reviews

See also

• Tortillería
• Corn tortilla
• Masa
• Tortilla press
• Comal

References

1. "Fausto Celorio, el mexicano genio detrás de la máquina que ha alimentado a México por más de 70 años". Xataka México. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
2. "El año que en México se vendieron tortillas cuadradas". México Desconocido. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
3. "Día del Taco, desde cuándo y por qué se celebra a esta delicia nacional". Gastrolab. Retrieved 2026-10-10.