Over time making tamales became a family activity, preparation for a feast on Christmas or New Year's. Because they are formed by hand, every tamale is individual. You can sense each person's style as you steam them. A tamale can be wrapped in a corn husk, a banana leaf or avocado leaf.
Wrappers vary from region to region.
The dough is made from ground corn with a trace of limestone and either mixed fresh or prepared from masa harina, an instant corn meal mixture. At a party long ago, I ate my first tamale. Four years ago I decided that I needed to learn how to make tamales. I owned a wholesale business that prepared and distributed vegetarian lunch food. I made a few batches of tamales, learning through trial and error, and soon brought samples to my clients.