Can you eat flour tortillas without cooking them?

Tortillas are one of the most popular dishes today. This Mesoamerican dish, today most often associated with Mexico, is eaten around the world and due to its inherent nature, it has a lot of varieties, since it allows the person who prepares them to be creative. Today, we are going to talk about raw tortillas and whether you can eat them like that or they have to be cooked.

You can consume flour tortillas without cooking them. Unless they are still raw dough, most brands will have partially cooked their tortillas enough so they are safe to eat. Since the tortillas are only slightly cooked it is safer to heat them further.

Raw tortillas, whether they’re unprepared dough or precooked store tortillas, shouldn’t be eaten raw because you will not get the full flavor and there are potential health risks associated with it.

Since our article is focused on raw tortillas, we are going to deal with the practicalities of eating and preparing them, but also with some of the risks associated with raw tortillas. Keep reading to find out more.

Can I Eat Raw (uncooked) Tortillas? What Happens If You Eat Them?

The quick and simple answer is – no. Now, let us see why.

There are, essentially, two types of raw tortillas. One is the dough itself and the other type is a pre-prepared, but uncooked tortilla. The first variant is still not a tortilla per se, but rather the necessary prerequisite to prepare a tortilla, while the other is a tortilla, but not completely prepared for eating.

As you probably know, eating raw dough is unhealthy and has a lot of possible health risks. This is true for all types of dough, whether it’s for cookies, bread, or tortillas. The dough might feel like an interesting “challenge” for your taste buds and your stomach, but we advise you not to be so bold as to try it. Usually, most people associate eating raw dough with the hazards of eating raw eggs and the presence of Salmonella, but most people don’t know that even raw flour dough has its risk as it might contain a lot of bacteria, related to E. coli. Heating the dough kills a lot of these bacteria and prepares the raw ingredients for eating, but consuming raw products is a health risk, confirmed even by the FDA.1

In case you actually try or accidentally ingest raw dough, here are some of the symptoms you should watch out for:

Symptoms of eating raw dough Associated with Salmonella Associated with E. cold painful, severe abdominal cramps diarrhea (often bloody) Nausea and vomiting Kidney failure (complication)Hemolytic uremic syndrome (complication)Stroke (complication)Death (complication)Diarrhea Fever Abdominal cramps

As for uncooked tortillas, they won’t do so much damage to your health, but they can be potentially dangerous (depending on how your body reacts to the flour) and you will not get the full flavor. The heat releases all of the ingredients in the tortilla, so you’ll enjoy it more if you heat them in some way.

What To Do with Uncooked Tortillas?

Well, the answer is rather simple – cook them! Whether you’ve prepared the dough yourself and now have a raw tortilla or you bought uncooked tortillas in your local store, you should never eat them or serve them like that. You need to heat them, using any of the usual methods. You don’t have to eat them burning hot, but you do have to heat them.

Why? Well, it’ll taste better (trust us), even if you don’t add any other ingredients and you’ll reduce the risk of potential health hazards.

How Do You Prepare a Raw Tortilla?

Now that we’ve established that you have to preheat your tortillas before you eat them, let us see how you can do it and how each of the methods works. We’ve included five methods for you to try out:

Heating them in a pan –

this is the best method if you don’t need many tortillas, i.e., you’re not preparing a feast for guests. It’s very simple. You just put the tortillas in a pan (you don’t even need oil or butter), add a bit of sizzling water after the pan is warm enough, and let it all heat up for about thirty to forty-five seconds on each side on a medium to medium-high flame. You’ll know it’s ready when you feel the characteristic aroma. You can leave it a bit longer if you like more crispy tortillas, but be careful to not leave them on the pan for too long, because it’ll ruin them completely.

Use the gas burner directly –

this is a rather tricky method and is also good when you need just one, two, or three tortillas, not more. Turn on the flames on your gas burner to medium-light or medium (you don’t want a bonfire) and take out your tongs. Take the tortilla and hold it above the flames, turning it when necessary for some time, until you see and smell they are ready. Then remove them and repeat the process until you’re done with your meal. It might take some time to get used to, but it’s a simple and practical solution if you want a quick meal.

Use your oven –

this is a good method if you need a lot of tortillas for you and your friends. The method is simple, although be aware that you won’t get much color, like with the above-mentioned methods. You need to group your tortillas in stacks of five or six and then wrap each stack in aluminum foil. You then place the stacks in your oven, preheated to 177 °C (350 °F), and leave them for eight to ten minutes. They’ll remain pale, but at least they’ll be nice and warm.

Microwave them –

another quick and practical solution for preparing a smaller number of tortillas quickly. You put them on a plate or something (whatever you prefer), close the microwave, and let it do its job. You’ll get nice and warm tortillas ready for eating very quickly. If you’re faced with the problem of uneven heating, which is not that uncommon, there is a good online guide on how to avoid it.3Still, you should avoid microwaving them, as you won’t get the full flavor.

Steam – this is a very unconventional method, but it’s effective and it reduces both the time necessary for the preparation of tortillas and the number of utensils you’ll need. You just need to prepare hot steam, put the tortillas above the source of the steam, and in about a minute or so, they’ll be nice and warm. You have different ways of producing steam so we’ll leave that part to your creative genius.

 

Flour tortillas are a staple food item in Mexican cuisine.
They are usually cooked or fried before being eaten.
Can you really eat these without heating them?
Flour tortillas are thin, soft, and crispy flatbreads made from cornmeal dough.
They are often served with beans, cheese, meat, vegetables, and other ingredients.
You can eat flour tortillas without heating them.
The only thing you need to remember is to cook them properly.
If they are too hot, they will become soggy and fall apart

Can you eat flour tortillas without cooking them?

Yes, you can eat flour tortillas without heating them. But if you want to get the best flavor from these tortillas, you should always heat them. Flour tortillas are not cooked in any way. They are simply fried in hot oil until they become crisp. This process takes about 30 seconds. Once they are done, you can enjoy eating them.

Symptoms of food poisoning from raw tortilla dough

Flour tortillas are not heated during the production process. However, they are cooked after being produced. Therefore, they should be cooked thoroughly. In addition, they should be stored properly. If you store flour tortillas in plastic bags, they should be refrigerated. If you store them in paper bags, they should be frozen.

Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS)

HUS is a rare disease caused by bacteria called Shiga toxin producing E. coli STEC. It occurs mostly in children under 5 years old. Symptoms usually begin 3–5 days after exposure to STEC. These symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, pallor, fatigue, headache, confusion, seizures, and kidney failure. Most people recover within 2 weeks but about 1% develop severe complications such as hemolytic uremic syndrome HUS, acute renal failure, and central nervous system problems.

How to cook tortillas?

Tortilla is a flat bread made from corn flour dough. It is used as a wrap for Mexican dishes. To cook tortilla, we need to follow these steps: 1. Take a bowl and put the ingredients below into it. 2. Mix well using a spoon.

In a pan

To make perfect tortillas, you need to know how to handle the dough properly. First, take a bowl and mix the ingredients below into it: • 1 cup lukewarm water • 2 cups masa harina corn meal

Using the gas Bruner

You can use a gas burner to make tortilla dough. To make the dough, you need to put the masa harina corn flour and warm water in a bowl. Then, you need to stir the mixture until it becomes smooth. After that, you need to knead the dough using your hands. This process takes about 5 minutes. Once the dough is ready, you need to divide it into 12 equal pieces. Then, you need cut each piece into 4 equal parts. Finally, you need to roll each part into a ball.

In the oven

To bake tortillas, you need to preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit 200 degrees Celsius. Then, you need to place the balls of dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the tortillas for 10 minutes. After that, remove the tortillas from the oven and let them cool.

Microwave

To cook tortilla chips, you need to put the tortilla chips into a bowl and fill it with cold water. Microwave the chips for 3 minutes. Drain the chips and dry them off with a towel.

Steam

You can use a microwave oven to steam vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, mushrooms, peas, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, green beans, zucchini, carrots, onions, peppers, garlic, herbs, spices, and other vegetables. To steam vegetables, place them in a microwave safe dish glass or plastic and pour enough water in the bottom of the dish to cover the vegetables. Cover the dish with a plate or lid and microwave until the vegetables are tender.

How long do flour tortillas last in the fridge?

Flour tortillas can be stored in the refrigerator for about 3 days if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. However, they tend to dry out quickly and become hard after being refrigerated for longer periods of time.

Do tortillas go bad?

Tortillas are not meant to be stored in the refrigerator. Tortillas are usually sold in packages of 12 or 24 pieces. It is recommended that you store them in a cool place such as the back of the freezer. This will help prevent them from drying out.

Can you eat expired tortillas?

Yes, you can eat expired tortillas. However, if you notice any signs of spoilage, throw them away immediately.

How to tell if the tortillas are bad?

Tortilla chips are usually stored in bags or boxes. These bags or boxes are not airtight and allow oxygen to enter into the bag or box. This allows the tortillas to become stale. To avoid this problem, store your tortillas in sealed containers such as Tupperware or Ziplocs.

Can you eat raw store bought tortillas?

Tortillas are typically used for Mexican cuisine, but they can be used for other cuisines as well. Tortillas are usually made from corn flour and water. In Mexico, tortillas are traditionally cooked on a comal a flat griddle over a fire, although nowadays many people prefer using electric ovens instead. However, if you want to enjoy the taste of freshly baked tortillas, you can buy them ready-made. You can even buy them frozen. But remember that freezing will affect the texture of the tortilla. So, if you are planning to freeze them, wrap them individually in plastic bags and put them into the freezer. Once frozen, transfer them to a resealable bag and store them in the freezer until needed.

Can you eat plain tortilla?

Tortillas are not only used for making tacos but they are also used for other dishes such as burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, nachos, and even pizza. Tortillas are usually made from corn flour or masa harina. In Mexico, tortillas are called “platos de barro” literally meaning “plates of clay”. In Spanish speaking countries, tortillas are known as “papas fritas” fried potatoes or �bollitos� little balls.

Can you eat tortilla wraps straight from the packet?

Yes, you can eat raw store bought tortilla chips if you choose to. However, I wouldn’t recommend eating them because they’re not healthy. It’s better to buy whole wheat flour tortillas from the grocery store and bake them yourself.