MEXICAN FANAL TORTILLA PRESS AND COMAL
This heavy duty cast iron tortilla press by Fanal and the cast iron comal next to it both were purchased at Casa Moneo, a Spanish and Latin American grocery on west 14th Street in New York City. The store opened in 1929 and served as an anchor for the Latin neighborhood, called “Little Spain,” that grew up around it. In 1988 the shop closed due to financial difficulties.
My press and comal have survived much use and abuse. The press, made in Monterrey, Mexico, is a little over 6 inches in diameter and is coated with silver paint to reduce rusting. If you don’t want your tortillas also coated with silver paint, press them between two Ziplock bags or pieces of parchment paper. A clean bag or parchment sheet can be left between the plates in the press during storage to further discourage rusting.
The comal fits over two burners, allowing you to maintain one end at high heat and the other at more moderate heat. That’s helpful in proper tortilla preparation. For more info, see Diana Kennedy’s recipe for tortillas under breads on this site.
There is no end to the uses for homemade tortillas:
