Tamales are a tasty treat that you can make with your family and friends. They are made using cornhusks, which are the leaves that cover corn. We use these leaves to hold the dough and yummy fillings inside.
First, we take a cornhusk and spread some dough on it. This dough is called masa. It’s soft and a little sticky, perfect for holding everything together.
After spreading the masa, we add some delicious fillings. You can put in red chili, meat, and even olives. These make the tamales taste really good!
Once the fillings are in, we wrap the cornhusk around everything. Then, we steam the tamales to cook them. Steaming makes them hot and ready to eat. Yum!
Making tamales is a fun activity to do with your family and friends. Everyone can help by doing different jobs, like spreading the masa or adding the fillings. It’s a great way to spend time together and enjoy a delicious meal!
Next time you want to try something new, ask your family if you can make tamales together. It’s a fun and tasty adventure!
Explore Cornhusks: Take a walk with your family to a local grocery store or market and look for cornhusks. Can you find them? What do they feel like? Are they smooth or rough? Once you have some, try to wrap a small toy or object with a cornhusk at home. This will help you understand how tamales are wrapped. Discuss with your family why cornhusks might be a good choice for wrapping tamales.
Create Your Own Tamale Recipe: Draw a picture of your dream tamale. What would you put inside? Would it be sweet or savory? Share your drawing with your family and explain why you chose those ingredients. Maybe you can even try making your special tamale with your family using safe and simple ingredients from your kitchen!
Family Cooking Time: Plan a tamale-making day with your family. Assign different roles to each family member, like spreading the masa or adding the fillings. After making the tamales, enjoy them together and talk about what you liked best about the process. What was the most fun part? What did you learn about working together?
Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
“What are those? These are cornhusks, and this is what we use to put the dough in. Then we add a little bit of meat, wrap them up, and cook them. When you are making tamales, it’s fun to get the whole family and friends together to help.
Zach, what are you doing?
I am putting masa on the leaf.
Oh, you’re doing a good job!
Thank you so much!
Michelle, what are you doing?
I’m putting red chili, meat, and olives in our tamale, and then I wrap it all up so it can get steamed and cooked. Yummy!”
