Fresh, Small Batch, Heirloom Corn Tortillas
By Your Neighborhood Molino
Get SomeTry Us At These Locations
Our Tortilleria
Here at RAIZ, the quality and integrity of our product will always come first. This means that our corn, our process, and our mission is at the heart of everything we do. Our corn is sustainably sourced from small rural farms across Mexico, cultivated by farmers maintaining generations of heirloom biodiverse species. Our process is long and laborious, but it yields the most superior product. And our mission, our ‘why’, is our engine — to bring an authentic, delicious, and rooted foundation to Mexican culinary in Hawaii, and to play an integral part in the preservation and perpetuation of our mother corn — the heart of Mexico.
Our Process
and why it makes a difference
Nixtamalization is the mesoamerican process of cooking heirloom corn (or any grain) in an alkaline solution, followed by grinding the softened kernels into masa (dough).
Nixtamal, when broken down in Nahuatl, or Aztec language is, nextli which means “ashes” and tamalli, “unformed corn dough”. The alkaline solution in ancient Aztec and Mayan times comprised of wood-ash, where kitchens today utilize slaked lime (derived from coral) boiled in water. The corn is then cooked in this solution and soaked overnight.
The nixtamalized corn (hominy) is now completely transformed — the kernels are rinsed and the pericarp (shell) is removed, exposing the seed’s valuable nutrients, making it all the more digestible and delicious. Think of each kernel as little flavor and vitamin bombs — and when ground into masa to become tortillas, packs together satisfaction and healthy energy creating the utmost and OG superfood.
The Corn | El Maiz
A promise to the corn means a promise to it all — the farmers who cultivate it, the generations who sustain it, the land that nourishes it, and the culture that roots it. Raiz pledges to always and only use varieties of corn that contribute to the heirloom lifecycle, sustainability, and biodiversity.
In turn, it is also our promise to deliver nothing but pure masa and tortillas using
only three ingredients: corn, water, and lime
— simple as they are intended to be — just how our ancestors made them.
Our Story
Upon his return from Mexico in 2018, Chef Ramón Germán couldn't wait to open his own restaurant in Hawaii. But when he realized that he couldn't find the fresh tortillas he made and ate daily, he switched focus.
RAIZ is the home of our micro-tortilleria — focused on fresh ancestral-style tortillas made with beautiful varieties of heirloom corn from small generational farms across Mexico and Hawaii.