“I’m reminded of a Chinese proverb cited by Ming Tsai on his PBS show: ‘If a grain of rice gets lonely, it will die.’ Take a kernel away from a hot bowl of rice and it will quickly dry out, get cold, and harden around the edges. Similarly, freshly made tortillas kept together in a container stay warm and supple longer, but when one is taken away on a plate alone it starts to grow cold almost immediately, its edges curling up. This is the worst thing that can happen to a tortilla.”

Read more from Chef Alex Stupak at First We Feast.