When you bite into a taco, you are tasting the results of an ancient chemical process called nixtamalization. It’s a technique that hasn’t changed much since 1500 BCE, and along the way it helped the Aztecs rise to power. It also made tortillas softer, tastier, and much more nutritious. Today, Benjamin Miller and Christina Martinez are the only chefs in Philadelphia making their tortillas from scratch, which means they have to practice the ancient art of nixtamalization. Produced for Distillations video.

Directed, produced, and edited by Mariel Carr
Director of Photography: Mariel Carr