Why an ancient way of grinding corn is trending on Denver Mexican restaurant menus

Nixtamalization is the process of making masa dough for tortillas and other dishes.

Rich Schneider, owner of Raquelitas Tortillas, checks nixtamalizing corn at the tortilla plant in Denver on Thursday, June 6, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Lines of corn tortilla chips and tortillas flow with systematic purpose at Raquelitas Tortillas factory in Denver’s River North Art District.

Once the chips have been fried and seasoned, a conveyor belt delivers them into a chute, where 6 pounds are automatically weighed out and dropped into a pink and green Raquelitas box, ready to be shipped out to one of 1,800 wholesale customers.

But not every aspect of the 25,000-square-foot factory’s assembly line comes with its own set of rules.  Since the family-owned business started in 1959, Raquelitas has been using an ancient, pre-Columbian process to make its chips and a portion of its tortillas. It’s why the corner of 31st and Larimer streets always smells distinctly like freshly husked corn.