Corn Tortillas

This was a completely accidental discovery-- no research or intent beforehand.

Dinner tonight was a simplified fish taco, which called for the traditional small corn tortillas.  The package had two sets of instructions for heating, to wit:  1) toast on a hot griddle for 20-30 seconds per side, or 2) microwave in a damp towel.  Being lazy (and the cast iron pan being unavailable), we nuked 'em¹.

When we bit into the tacos, the corn tortillas promptly split apart and started creating a largish mess.  This was a source of some surprise and no small disappointment, but we ate them anyway, for we were hungry.

After, I was not quite full, and there were plenty of leftovers, so I figured I'd try a little experiment.  I cleaned the cast iron pan, and heated another tortilla according to the other method.  And boy howdy, did it make a difference.  The tortilla was warm and soft, but not vaguely damp like the microwaved one was, and held its structural integrity with a great deal more ease.

So take it from me-- not all heating instructions are created equal.  If you don't have a flat hot surface, a toaster oven probably would work.  But whatever you do, don't microwave the tortillas².

¹It was the only way to be sure.
²Unknown whether this rule holds for flour tortillas as well.