Tamales 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making Traditional Tamales [Paperback]

Alice Guadalupe Tapp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 2002

Corn-husked bundles of fresh masa plump with wonderful combinations of sauces, meats, and vegetables—tamales are a simple and delicious staple of Mexican and Southwestern cuisine. Alice Guadalupe Tapp has perfected the art of tamale making, and in TAMALES 101 imparts her knowledge and passion for this comforting treat. TAMALES 101 will show beginners how to make masa dough as well as fold and steam tamales to perfection. Then, once you've mastered the basics, you'll be whipping up batches of Chicken Tomatillo, Chorizo Potato, Vegetable Curry, and Greek tamales in no time. With recipes for nearly 100 traditional, vegetarian, vegan, and specialty tamales and sauces, TAMALES 101 will send you on a culinary adventure that's sure to delight and impress your guests.• Includes 60 food and spot photographs and 15 illustrations showing, step by step, how to spread masa and wrap and tie tamales.• At Tamara's Tamales, Alice and her daughter, Tamara, sell hundreds of tamales a day—and have since 1996.Reviews"Graphically the book shouts ‘olé!' with its vibrant colors and fun type."—The Kansas City Star

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

•Includes 60 food and spot photographs and 15 illustrations showing, step by step, how to spread masa and wrap and tie tamales.

•At Tamara’s Tamales, Alice and her daughter, Tamara, sell hundreds of tamales a day—and have since 1996.

About the Author

Every Saturday, when ALICE GUADALUPE TAPP was only seven years old, she'¬?d help her grandmother make tamales to sell after Sunday mass. Now Alice is co-owner (with her daughter, Tamara) of Tamara'¬?s Tamales in Marina Del Rey, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (November 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580084281
• ISBN-13: 978-1580084284
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.5 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > European > Spanish
  • #20 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Mexican

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, you *can* become a tamalista!, December 21, 2003

By 

AZ Reader (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Tamales 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making Traditional Tamales (Paperback)

A couple of weeks before Christmas, I found myself facing a luncheon for 15 foodie friends for which I'd promised fresh tamales--and my promised helper, the only person I knew who had made them before, came down with the flu! I was on my own.

Fortunately, I had Tamales 101 in hand. Got a few tips from a guy at the local Tamale Festival, but mostly I just devoured this book, took a deep breath, and started. My masa floated, the corn husks peeled off my tamales easily, and they were firm and delicious! I spent over three days cooking and ended up with a cornucopia of Red Chile Pork, Chorizo-Potato, Jalapeno and Cheese, and two kinds of dessert tamales, plus all the salsa and other trimmings. (I'd made enough to take to three other events, it turned out.) And I *enjoyed* myself doing it.

Making tamales is both harder and easier than you might think. What's hard is the amount of time and effort, but what's easy is the routine you get into after making a few. The day of the luncheon, I taught an early guest how to fill and fold them (using the very easy foldover method illustrated in the book), and she taught everyone else who wanted to try a few. As they say, a good time was had by all.

My tips and observations for those who want to give this a try:

Get *very* organized in advance: ingredients list, timetable, list of accompaniments, etc. A large steamer is a must (I used an oriental two-level steel one, but a Mexican one that looks like a canning kettle works well, too, and both are fairly inexpensive). An electric mixer is also a must. I used a hand mixer, but a stand mixer would have been easier. You *must* maintain several inches of boiling water in the pan (I just about burned mine out at one point), and it is possible to burn both hands at once if you use potholders instead of oven mitts to pick up the upper pan to check the water level.

From the festival tamale maker, I learned that it's important to use all the lard called for (part can be butter or margarine) and also all the salt called for. I read somewhere else that much of the lard is absorbed by the husks, and I hope this is true. From the book, I learned to use fresh masa (easily available here in the southwest) rather than dry, and to whip the lard for at least 5 minutes and then the worked-in masa and broth for another 10 to 15 minutes, and also to use an ice cream scoop to measure the right amount of masa onto the husks/leaves.

I won't be waiting until next Christmas to make more tamales, now that I know how easy and good they are. Just thinking of all the varieties in Tamales 101 that I haven't tried yet has me drooling. Give it a try!

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Childhood Memories Reclaimed, January 12, 2003

By 

Veronica L. Miller (Riverside, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tamales 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making Traditional Tamales (Paperback)

Tradition in my Mexican family is that tamales are made every Christmas Eve for Christmas day dinner. I have very fond memories of my grandmother, aunts, and cousins getting together and making unbelievable amounts of tamales from scratch. So this year I wanted to make tamales myself, but with the passing of my grandmother, her recipes went with her. Tamales are not the easiest thing to make (I remembered all the time and effort they require). Not all masas or fillings taste the same and everyone that makes them, has their own specail "touch". I wanted to be able to recapture the same texture and flavor of the tamales my Mama Luz (grandmother) used to make. So...in my quest for tamale guidiance, I turned to this book. I wasn't sure if I'd get good results, but decided to take the gamble. Well let me tell you, my tamales came out AMAZING!!! The recipe for the tomatillo salsa was a big hit! I paired this salsa with chicken and it was great! I also made the traditional sweet tamales and they tasted just like the ones my grandmother used to make. The recipes were easy to follow and the illustrations were very helpful. I'm a pretty avid cook but I had always been intimidated of tamales. Well nevermore! My childhood memeries of tamales will now not just left to be a yearly tradition in my household because I now know I can whip up a batch at a whim. I'm very happy that I found this book and glad that I took the gamble on this book now. Thank you Alice Guadalupe Tapp for helping me bring back a cherished tradition into my home.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best that's out there on the subject...I love this book!, January 4, 2005

By 

Luminosa (SF Bay Area, California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tamales 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making Traditional Tamales (Paperback)

I love this book. The author brings enormous experience from her own highly beloved tamalaria in S. Calif. and makes it possible to create excellent tamales on your own. Not as easy a subject as it might seem. I found her presentation thoughtful, with clear, thorough explanations and instructions that are well-presented. Her detailed description of the different types of masa and masa prep., of tamale wrappers and wrapping techniques, of ratio of filling to masa, of the tradition versus popular taste in saucing tamales, of all matters related to general preparation, cooking, storing etc. are all excellent, especially considering that it is a rather small book. Unlike another tamale book out now by a famous chef, these recipes are down to earth and wonderful, and span a wide range of tamales...including adaptations for vegetarians, special occasion tamales and much more. Great sauce recipes. Different versions of many recipes (such as mole sauces, chicken tamales, and much more). The author has a nice personable style, sharing customs and her own family lore along with her valuable insights from running a tamaleria in a trendy So. Cal beach town...and that is a really daunting challenge: to appeal to everything from a large solid Mexicano population to surfers to L.A.'s celeb-types etc. etc.

This is really a great recipe collection, well-presented for the experienced and novice tamale-maker (which I was...), and it is a really pretty publication - rich in colors and beautiful photos. I love this book...I have a very large cookbook collection that I use pretty extensively, and this little book has really endeared itself to me. I think it is a great value.