Commonly found in kitchens throughout Mexico, Central America, and some parts of South America, a comal is a flat, round cooking surface. It’s often handmade from hammered metal, cast iron, or clay, with a slight lip around the rim. Besides making tortillas (and their thicker cousin, gorditas), comales are typically used to roast or char vegetables and toast spices (everything from cumin seeds to whole cloves).
They’re also handed down from generation to generation. When Jinich got married in 1996, her mother gave her a comal she’d had for 30 years. Jinich, who owns eight comales of different sizes and materials, still uses the comal her mother gave her to this day and calls it her favorite. But it’s not perfect. She says its cooking surface is thin and uneven. Though durable, comales can take on imperfections like these over time. Tortillas can also sometimes stick to the surface of a traditional comal, all of which might make them especially tricky for a novice to get the hang of.
“If you’re a beginner, I would say stay away,” advised Jinich. “Traditional clay comales are beautiful to look at, but they can be too complicated to use.”
A griddle, like a comal—and unlike a frying pan or skillet you may already have at home—has very low sides that make flipping a tortilla so easy that Jinich often does it with her hands instead of a spatula.
Jinich also likes the size of the Anolon griddle because it can straddle two adjacent burners on a stovetop. She recommends turning one burner to medium for cooking the tortillas and the other to low so you can keep them warm once they’re done. If you need more room while cooking a large batch, the griddle comes with a detachable baking rack that you can place on the counter and put tortillas on once they’re done cooking (though they won’t stay warm).
Most importantly, unlike a high-sided skillet, the Anolon griddle offers a spacious cooking surface where you can practice your tortilla-making technique while enjoying a high rate of success almost from the very beginning.
“With the griddle, the heat will be even, and the tortillas won’t stick,” explained Jinich. “You can even make cheese quesadillas and the nonstick will give you a beautiful cheese crust without a mess. Just know that the first tortilla is going to get messed up. It’s pretty much like crepes; the first is how you get started. And it’s fine.”
