A taco (, , ) is a traditional
Mexican food
Mexican cuisine consists of the cooking cuisines and traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Its ingredients and methods begin with the first agricultural communities such as the Olmec and M ...
consisting of a small hand-sized
corn- or
wheat-based tortilla topped with a
filling
Filling may refer to:
* a food mixture used for stuffing
* Frosting used between layers of a cake
* Dental restoration
* Symplectic filling, a kind of cobordism in mathematics
* Part of the leather crusting process
See also
* Fill (disambiguati ...
. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and
eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of fillings, including beef, pork, chicken, seafood, beans, vegetables, and cheese, allowing for great versatility and variety. They are often garnished with various condiments, such as
salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
...
,
guacamole
Guacamole (; (informally shortened to ''guac'' in the United States since the 1980s) is an avocado-based dip, spread, or salad first developed in Mexico. In addition to its use in modern Mexican cuisine, it has become part of international cuisi ...
, or
sour cream
Sour cream (in North American English, Australian English and New Zealand English) or soured cream (British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, wh ...
, and vegetables, such as lettuce, onion, tomatoes, and
chiles. Tacos are a common form of antojitos, or
Mexican street food
Mexican street food, called ''antojitos'' (literally "little cravings"), is prepared by street vendors and at small traditional markets in Mexico. Street foods include tacos, tamales, gorditas, quesadillas, empalmes, tostadas, chalupa, elote, ...
, which have spread around the world.
Tacos can be contrasted with similar foods such as
burrito
A burrito (, ) is a dish in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine that took form in Ciudad Juárez, consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped into a sealed cylindrical shape around various ingredients. The tortilla is sometimes lightly grilled or steamed ...
s, which are often much larger and rolled rather than folded;
taquito
A taquito (, Spanish for "small taco"), tacos dorados,rolled taco, or flauta (, Spanish for "flute") is a Mexican food dish that typically consists of a small rolled-up tortilla that contains filling, including beef, cheese or chicken.Castro, R ...
s, which are rolled and fried; or
chalupas/
tostadas, in which the tortilla is fried before filling.
Etymology
The origins of the taco are not precisely known, and etymologies for the culinary usage of the word are generally theoretical.
''Taco'' in the sense of a typical Mexican dish comprising a
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
tortilla
A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indigenous peoples of Me ...
folded around food is just one of the meanings connoted by the word, according to the
Real Academia Española
The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...
, publisher of ''
Diccionario de la Lengua Española
The ''Diccionario de la lengua española'' (DLE; ; en, Dictionary of the Spanish language), previously known as ''Diccionario de la Real Academia Española'' (DRAE; en, Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy), is produced, edited, and publish ...
.''
This meaning of the Spanish word "taco" is a Mexican innovation,
but the word "taco" is used in other contexts to mean "wedge; wad, plug; billiard cue; blowpipe; ramrod; short, stocky person;
rshort, thick piece of wood."
The etymological origin of this sense of the word is Germanic and has cognates in other European languages, including the French word "tache" and the English word "tack."
In Spain, the word "taco" can also be used in the context of ': these are diced pieces of ham, or sometimes bits and shavings of ham leftover after a larger piece is sliced. They can be served on their own as
tapas
A tapa () is an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine. Tapas can be combined to make a full meal, and can be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as ''chopitos'', which are battered, fried baby squid, or patatas bravas). In so ...
or street food, or can be added to other dishes such as
salmorejo
Salmorejo, sometimes known as ardoria or ardorío, is a traditional soup originating from Andalusia, southern Spain, made of tomato, bread, extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Normally, the tomatoes are skinned and then puréed with the other ing ...
,
omelettes
In cuisine, an omelette (also spelled omelet) is a dish made from beaten eggs, fried with butter or oil in a frying pan (without stirring as in scrambled egg). It is quite common for the omelette to be folded around fillings such as chives, ve ...
,
stews,
empanadas
An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling, common in Spanish, other Southern European, Latin American, and Iberian-influenced cultures around the world. The name comes from the Spanish (to bread, i.e., ...
, or '.
According to one etymological theory, the culinary origin of the term "taco" in Mexico can be traced to its employment, among Mexican silver miners, as a term signifying "plug." The miners used explosive charges in plug form, consisting of a paper wrapper and gunpowder filling.
Indigenous origins are also proposed. One possibility is that the word derives from the
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
word "tlahco", meaning "half" or "in the middle,"
in the sense that food would be placed in the middle of a tortilla. Furthermore, dishes analogous to the taco were known to have existed in
Pre-Columbian society—for example, the Nahuatl word "tlaxcalli" (a type of corn tortilla).
History
There is significant debate about the origins of the Taco in Mexico, with some arguing that the taco predates the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico, since there is anthropological evidence that the indigenous people living in the lake region of the
Valley of Mexico
The Valley of Mexico ( es, Valle de México) is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with present-day Mexico City and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico wa ...
traditionally ate tacos filled with small fish. Writing at the time of the Spanish conquistadors,
Bernal Díaz del Castillo
Bernal Díaz del Castillo ( 1492 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador, who participated as a soldier in the conquest of the Aztec Empire under Hernán Cortés and late in his life wrote an account of the events. As an experience ...
documented the first taco feast enjoyed by Europeans, a meal which
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
arranged for his captains in
Coyoacán
Coyoacán ( , ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. The former village is now the borough's "historic center". The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means "place of coyotes", when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispanic vil ...
.
Others argue that the advent of the taco is much more recent, with one of the more popular theories being that the taco was invented by silver miners in the 18th century, however the first mention of the word "taco" in Mexico was in the 1891 novel Los bandidos de Río Frío by
Manuel Payno
Manuel Payno (Mexico City, 1810 – San Ángel Tenanitla, 1894), was a Mexican writer, journalist, politician and diplomat. His political ideology was moderate liberal. Payno's most notable literature work include ' (Spanish: ''The Bandits of R ...
.
Traditional variations
There are many traditional varieties of tacos:
![01 Tacos al Pastor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/01_Tacos_al_Pastor.jpg)
* Tacos
al pastor ("shepherd style") or tacos de
adobada
Adobada (Spanish for " marinated") is a preparation for many dishes that are common in Mexican cuisine. Adobada is generally pork marinated in a "red" chili sauce with vinegar and oregano, but it can refer to different types of meat and to marinad ...
are made of thin pork steaks seasoned with
adobo
or (Spanish: marinade, sauce, or seasoning) is the immersion of cooked food in a stock (or sauce) composed variously of paprika, oregano, salt, garlic, and vinegar to preserve and enhance its flavor. The Portuguese variant is known as . ...
seasoning, then skewered and overlapped on one another on a vertical rotisserie cooked and flame-broiled as it spins.
* Tacos de asador ("spit" or "grill" tacos) may be composed of any of the following: ''
carne asada
Carne asada is grilled and sliced beef, usually chuck steak (known as Diezmillo in Spanish), though skirt steak or flank steak can also be used. It is usually marinated then grilled or seared to impart a charred flavor. Carne asada can be served ...
tacos''; ''tacos de tripita'' ("
tripe
Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pigs and sheep.
Types of tripe
Beef tripe
Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's st ...
tacos"), grilled until crisp; and, ''
chorizo asado'' (traditional Spanish-style sausage). Each type is served on two overlapped small
tortillas
A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indigenous peoples of M ...
and sometimes garnished with
guacamole
Guacamole (; (informally shortened to ''guac'' in the United States since the 1980s) is an avocado-based dip, spread, or salad first developed in Mexico. In addition to its use in modern Mexican cuisine, it has become part of international cuisi ...
,
salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
...
, onions, and cilantro (coriander leaf). Also, prepared on the grill is a sandwiched taco called ''mulita'' ("little mule") made with meat served between two tortillas and garnished with
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
style cheese. ''"Mulita"'' is used to describe these types of sandwiched tacos in the Northern States of Mexico while they are known as
Gringa
''Gringo'' (, , ) (masculine) (or ''gringa'' (feminine)) is a term in Spanish and Portuguese for a foreigner, usually an English-speaking Anglo-American. There are differences in meaning depending on region and country. In Latin America, it is g ...
in the Mexican south and are prepared using
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
flour tortillas. Tacos may also be served with salsa.
* Tacos de
cabeza
In Mexican cuisine, ''cabeza'' (''lit.'' 'head') is the meat from a roasted head of an animal, served as taco
A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling ...
("head tacos"), in which there is a flat punctured metal plate from which steam emerges to cook the head of the cow. These include: ''
Cabeza
In Mexican cuisine, ''cabeza'' (''lit.'' 'head') is the meat from a roasted head of an animal, served as taco
A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling ...
'', a serving of the muscles of the head; ''
Sesos
Beef brains and veal (juvenile beef) or calf's brains are used in the cuisines of France; Italy; Spain; El Salvador; Mexico, etc. where they are called ''sesos'' in Spanish and are eaten in tacos and quesadillas; Pakistan and Bangladesh, where t ...
'' ("brains"); ''
Lengua'' ("tongue"); ''Cachete'' ("cheeks"); ''Trompa'' ("lips"); and, ''Ojo'' ("eye"). Tortillas for these tacos are warmed on the same steaming plate for a different consistency. These tacos are typically served in pairs, and also include salsa, onion, and cilantro (coriander leaf) with occasional use of guacamole.
* Tacos de camarones ("shrimp tacos") also originated in
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
in Mexico. Grilled or fried
shrimp
Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
are used, usually with the same accompaniments as fish tacos: lettuce or cabbage,
pico de gallo
''Pico de gallo'' (, ), also called ''salsa fresca'' ('fresh sauce'), ''salsa bandera'' ('flag sauce'), and ''salsa cruda'' ('raw sauce'), is a type of salsa commonly used in Mexican cuisine. It is traditionally made from chopped tomato, onio ...
, avocado and a sour cream or citrus/mayonnaise sauce, all placed on top of a corn or flour tortilla.
* Tacos de cazo (literally "bucket tacos") for which a metal bowl filled with lard is typically used as a deep-fryer. Meats for these types of tacos typically include ''
Tripa'' ("tripe", usually from a pig instead of a cow, and can also refer to the intestines); ''
Suadero
Suadero, in Mexican cuisine, is a thin cut of meat from the intermediate part of the cow or pork between the belly and the leg. Suadero is noted for having a smooth texture rather than a muscle grain. Typically, suadero is confited or fried an ...
'' (tender beef cuts), ''
Carnitas'' and ''Buche'' (Literally, ''"
crop
A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...
"'', as in ''bird's crop''; or the esophagus of any animal.
)
* Tacos de lengua (beef tongue tacos), which are cooked in water with onions, garlic, and bay leaves for several hours until tender and soft, then sliced and sautéed in a small amount of oil. "It is said that unless a
taquería offers tacos de lengua, it is not a real taquería."
![Tacos de Pescado](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Tacos_de_Pescado.jpg)
* Tacos de pescado ("fish tacos") originated in
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
in Mexico, where they consist of grilled or fried fish, lettuce or cabbage,
pico de gallo
''Pico de gallo'' (, ), also called ''salsa fresca'' ('fresh sauce'), ''salsa bandera'' ('flag sauce'), and ''salsa cruda'' ('raw sauce'), is a type of salsa commonly used in Mexican cuisine. It is traditionally made from chopped tomato, onio ...
, and a sour cream or citrus/mayonnaise sauce, all placed on top of a corn or flour tortilla. In the United States, they were first popularized by the
Rubio's
Rubio's Coastal Grill, formerly known as Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill and Rubio’s Baja Grill is an American fast casual "Fresh Mex" or "New Mex" restaurant chain specializing in Mexican food, with an emphasis on fish tacos. As of 2013, Rubio's ...
fast-food chain, and remain most popular in California, Colorado, and Washington. In California, they are often found at street vendors, and a regional variation is to serve them with cabbage and coleslaw dressing on top.
* Tacos dorados (fried tacos; literally, "golden tacos") called ''flauta''s ("
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
", because of the shape), or
taquito
A taquito (, Spanish for "small taco"), tacos dorados,rolled taco, or flauta (, Spanish for "flute") is a Mexican food dish that typically consists of a small rolled-up tortilla that contains filling, including beef, cheese or chicken.Castro, R ...
s, for which the tortillas are filled with pre-cooked shredded chicken, beef or ''
barbacoa
Barbacoa () is a form of cooking meat that originated in the Caribbean with the Taíno people, who called it by the Arawak word ''barbaca'', from which the term "barbacoa" derives, and ultimately, the word ' barbecue". In contemporary Mexico, i ...
'', rolled into an elongated cylinder and deep-fried until crisp. They are sometimes cooked in a
microwave oven
A microwave oven (commonly referred to as a microwave) is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces polar molecules in the food to rotate and produce t ...
or
broiled
Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above, below or from the side. Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat a ...
.
* Tacos sudados ("sweaty tacos") are made by filling soft tortillas with a spicy meat mixture, then placing them in a basket covered with cloth. The covering keeps the tacos warm and traps steam ("sweat") which softens them.
As an accompaniment to tacos, many
taco stand
A taco stand or taquería is a food stall, food cart or restaurant that specializes in tacos and other Mexican dishes. The food is typically prepared quickly and tends to be inexpensive. Many various ingredients may be used, and various taco s ...
s will serve whole or sliced red
radishes
The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman times.
Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten raw ...
,
lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
slices, salt, pickled or grilled chilis (hot peppers), and occasionally
cucumber
Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables. slices, or grilled cambray onions.
Image:Carnitas.jpg, Tacos made with a carnitas filling
File:Tacos.jpg, Grilled shrimp
Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
taco
File:Tacos de suadero.jpg, Tacos de suadero (grey) and chorizo (red) being prepared at a taco stand
A taco stand or taquería is a food stall, food cart or restaurant that specializes in tacos and other Mexican dishes. The food is typically prepared quickly and tends to be inexpensive. Many various ingredients may be used, and various taco s ...
File:Barbacoa taco.jpg, Barbacoa
Barbacoa () is a form of cooking meat that originated in the Caribbean with the Taíno people, who called it by the Arawak word ''barbaca'', from which the term "barbacoa" derives, and ultimately, the word ' barbecue". In contemporary Mexico, i ...
tacos
File:Taco al pastor-1.jpg, Taco al pastor with guacamole
Non-traditional variations
Hard-shell tacos
The hard-shell or crispy taco is a tradition that developed in the United States. The most common type of taco in the US is the hard-shell, U-shaped version, first described in a cookbook in 1949.
This type of taco is typically served as a crisp-fried corn tortilla filled with seasoned ground beef, cheese, lettuce, and sometimes tomato, onion, salsa, sour cream, and avocado or guacamole.
Such tacos are sold by restaurants and by fast food chains, while kits are readily available in most supermarkets. Hard shell tacos are sometimes known as ''tacos dorados'' ("golden tacos") in Spanish,
a name that they share with
taquito
A taquito (, Spanish for "small taco"), tacos dorados,rolled taco, or flauta (, Spanish for "flute") is a Mexican food dish that typically consists of a small rolled-up tortilla that contains filling, including beef, cheese or chicken.Castro, R ...
s.
Various sources credit different individuals with the invention of the hard-shell taco, but some form of the dish likely predates all of them.
Beginning from the early part of the twentieth century, various types of tacos became popular in the country, especially in Texas and California but also elsewhere.
By the late 1930s, companies like
Ashley Mexican Food Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsc'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
...
and
Absolute Mexican Foods Absolute may refer to:
Companies
* Absolute Entertainment, a video game publisher
* Absolute Radio, (formerly Virgin Radio), independent national radio station in the UK
* Absolute Software Corporation, specializes in security and data risk manage ...
were selling appliances and ingredients for cooking hard shell tacos, and the first patents for hard-shell taco cooking appliances were filed in the 1940s.
In the mid-1950s,
Glen Bell
Glen William Bell Jr. (September 3, 1923 – January 16, 2010)
was an American entrepreneur who founded the Taco Bell chain of restaurants.
Biography
Glen Bell was born in Lynwood, California, to Glen William Bell Sr. and Ruth Elizabeth B ...
opened Taco Tia, and began selling a simplified version of the tacos being sold by Mexican restaurants in
San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...
, particularly the ''tacos dorados'' being sold at the Mitla Cafe, owned by Lucia and Salvador Rodriguez across the street from another of Bell's restaurants.
Over the next few years, Bell owned and operated a number of restaurants in southern California including four called El Taco.
At this time, Los Angeles was
racially-segregated
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Internati ...
, and the tacos sold at Bell's restaurants were many white Americans' first introduction to Mexican food.
Bell sold the El Tacos to his partner and built the first
Taco Bell
Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...
in
Downey Downey may refer to:
People
*Downey (surname)
*Robert Downey Jr.
Places
*Downey, California, US
*Downey, Idaho, US
*Downey, Iowa, US
Businesses
*W. & D. Downey, photographic studio
*Downey Studios, created out of a former Boeing plant
Schools
* ...
in 1962. Kermit Becky, a former
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
officer, bought the first Taco Bell franchise from Glen Bell in 1964,
and located it in
Torrance. The company grew rapidly, and by 1967, the 100th restaurant opened at 400 South Brookhurst in
Anaheim
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
. In 1968, its first franchise location east of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
opened in
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County, Ohio, Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approxim ...
.
File:NCI Visuals Food Taco.jpg, A hard-shell taco, made with a prefabricated shell
File:Taco ingredients.jpg, Common ingredients for North American hard-shell tacos
File:Picture of crispy taco from taqueria in sacramento, ca.jpg, A crispy taco from a Sacramento, California, taquería
Soft-shell tacos
![Tacos at restaurant Chalupa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Tacos_at_restaurant_Chalupa.jpg)
Traditionally, soft-shelled tacos referred to corn tortillas that were cooked to a softer state than a hard taco – usually by grilling or steaming. More recently, the term has come to include flour-tortilla-based tacos mostly from large manufacturers and restaurant chains. In this context, ''soft tacos'' are tacos made with
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
flour tortillas and filled with the same ingredients as a hard taco.
Breakfast taco
![BreakfastTaco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/BreakfastTaco.jpg)
The breakfast taco, found in
Tex-Mex cuisine
Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United ...
, is a soft corn or flour tortilla filled with meat, eggs, or cheese, which can also contain other ingredients.
Some have claimed that
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
, is the home of the breakfast taco. However, food writer and ''
OC Weekly'' editor Gustavo Arellano responded that such a statement reflects a common trend of "whitewashed" foodways reporting, noting that predominantly Hispanic
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
, "never had to brag about its breakfast taco love—folks there just call it 'breakfast'.
Indian taco
Indian tacos, or ''
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
tacos'', are made using
frybread
Frybread (also spelled fry bread) is a flat dough bread, fried or deep-fried in oil, shortening, or lard. Made with simple ingredients, generally wheat flour, sugar, salt, and fat, frybread can be eaten alone or with various toppings such a ...
instead of tortillas. They are commonly eaten at
pow-wow
A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an ...
s,
festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
s, and other gatherings by and for indigenous people in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
This kind of taco is not known to have been present before the arrival of Europeans in what is now the
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...
.
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
tradition indicates that frybread came into use in the 1860s when the government forced the tribe to relocate from their homeland in
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
in a journey known as the
Long Walk of the Navajo
The Long Walk of the Navajo, also called the Long Walk to Bosque Redondo ( nv, Hwéeldi), was the 1864 deportation and attempted ethnic cleansing of the Navajo people by the United States federal government. Navajos were forced to walk from t ...
. It was made from ingredients given to them by the government to supplement their diet since the region could not support growing the agricultural commodities that had been previously used.
File:Puffy taco.jpg, A puffy taco
File:Frybread taco.jpg, A frybread
Frybread (also spelled fry bread) is a flat dough bread, fried or deep-fried in oil, shortening, or lard. Made with simple ingredients, generally wheat flour, sugar, salt, and fat, frybread can be eaten alone or with various toppings such a ...
taco
File:Huna Fish Taco.jpg, A fish taco on frybread
Puffy tacos, taco kits, and tacodillas
Since at least 1978, a variation called the "puffy taco" has been popular. ''Henry's Puffy Tacos'', opened by Henry Lopez in
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, claims to have invented the variation, in which uncooked corn tortillas (flattened balls of
masa
''Masa'' (or ''masa de maíz'') (; ) is a maize dough that comes from ground nixtamalization, nixtamalized corn. It is used for making corn tortillas, ''gorditas'', ''tamales'', ''pupusas'', and many other Latin American cuisine, Latin American d ...
dough
) are quickly fried in hot oil until they expand and become "puffy".
Fillings are similar to hard-shell versions. Restaurants offering this style of taco have since appeared in other Texas cities, as well as in California, where Henry's brother, Arturo Lopez, opened ''Arturo's Puffy Taco'' in
Whittier, not long after Henry's opened.
Henry's continues to thrive, managed by the family's second generation.
[
Kits are available at grocery and ]convenience store
A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...
s and usually consist of taco shells (corn tortillas already fried in a U-shape), seasoning mix and taco sauce
Salsa is a variety of sauces used as condiments for tacos and other Mexican and Mexican-American foods, and as dips for tortilla chips. They may be raw or cooked, and are generally served at room temperature.
Though the word ''salsa'' means a ...
. Commercial vendors for the home market also market soft taco kits with tortillas instead of taco shells.
The tacodilla contains melted cheese in between the two folded tortillas, thus resembling a quesadilla
A quesadilla (; ; Mexican diminutive of ''quesada'') is a Mexican dish consisting of a tortilla that is filled primarily with cheese, and sometimes meats, spices, and other fillings, and then cooked on a griddle or stove. Traditionally, a co ...
.
See also
* Arepa
''Arepa'' () is a type of food made of ground maize dough stuffed with a filling, eaten in the northern region of South America since pre-Columbian times, and notable primarily in the cuisine of Colombia and Venezuela, but also present in the cuis ...
* Burrito
A burrito (, ) is a dish in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine that took form in Ciudad Juárez, consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped into a sealed cylindrical shape around various ingredients. The tortilla is sometimes lightly grilled or steamed ...
* Choco Taco
Choco Taco was a Good Humor-Breyers ice cream novelty resembling a taco. It consisted of a disk of waffle cone material folded to resemble a hard taco shell, reduced-fat vanilla ice cream, artificially flavored fudge, peanuts, and a milk choco ...
* Fajita
A fajita (; ), in Tex-Mex cuisine, is any stripped grilled meat with stripped peppers and onions usually served on a flour or corn tortilla. The term originally referred to skirt steak, the cut of beef first used in the dish. Popular alternative ...
* French tacos
A French tacos (french: tacos français , or commonly ''tacos'') or matelas (French for "mattress") is a fast food dish which usually consists of a flour tortilla grilled and folded around a filling of French fries, cheese, and meat, among other ...
* Gyro (food)
* Korean taco
Korean tacos are a Korean-Mexican fusion dish popular in a number of urban areas in the United States and Canada. Korean tacos originated in Los Angeles, often as street food, consisting of Korean-style fillings, such as bulgogi and kimchi, pla ...
* Pupusas
A pupusa is a thick griddle cake or flatbread from El Salvador and Honduras, made with cornmeal or rice flour, similar to the Colombian and Venezuelan arepa. In El Salvador, it has been declared the national dish and has a specific day to ce ...
* Shawarma
Shawarma (; ar, شاورما) is a popular Middle Eastern dish that originated in the Ottoman Empire, consisting of meat cut into thin slices, stacked in a cone-like shape, and roasted on a slowly-turning vertical rotisserie or spit. Tradition ...
/Doner kebab
Doner kebab (, ; tr, döner or , ), also spelled döner kebab, is a type of kebab, made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Seasoned meat stacked in the shape of an inverted cone is turned slowly on the rotisserie, next to a vertical co ...
* Taco rice
is a popular example of modern Okinawan cuisine. It consists of taco-flavored ground beef served on a bed of rice, frequently served with shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato and salsa.
Charlie's Tacos, serving tacos in shells made from ...
* Taco salad
A taco salad is a Tex-Mex dish that combines ingredients used in Tex-Mex tacos. The dish originated in Texas during the 1960s.
Ingredients
The salad is served with a fried flour tortilla shell stuffed with shredded iceberg lettuce and topped wit ...
* Taco soup
Taco soup is a type of soup composed of a broth with similar ingredients to those used inside a taco: ground beef, tomatoes, chopped green chilis, onions, corn, beans and a packet of taco seasoning. Vegetarian versions combine beans with the othe ...
* Tacos de canasta
Tacos de canasta ('basket tacos') are a popular Mexican food preparation consisting of tortilla filled with various stews. Typical fillings are Potato, ''papa'' ('potato'), ''chicharrón'' ('pork rinds'), ''Bean, frijoles'' ('beans') or ''adobo'' ...
* Tlayuda
Tlayuda (), sometimes spelled clayuda, is a handmade dish in traditional Oaxacan cuisine, consisting of a large, thin, crunchy, partially fried or toasted tortilla covered with a spread of refried beans, ''asiento'' (unrefined pork lard), lettu ...
* Tostada
* Tunnbröd
Tunnbröd (; literally "thinbread") is the Sweden, Swedish version of flatbread and properly belongs to northern Swedish cuisine where housewives share a common bakery to produce it. Tunnbröd can be soft or crisp, and comes in many variants depen ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
{{Authority control
Tortilla-based dishes
Mexican cuisine
Mesoamerican cuisine
Cuisine of the Southwestern United States
Pre-Columbian Native American cuisine
Post-Columbian Native American cuisine
Fast food
New Mexican cuisine
Mexican Spanish
Street food
Tex-Mex cuisine
Mexican-American cuisine
Street food in Mexico