A taco is a traditional Mexican dish.
It consists of a tortilla folded or rolled around a filling.
Tortilla is a round, thin, flat bread of Mexico made from unleavened cornmeal or, less commonly, wheat flour.
A taco can be made with a variety of fillings, including beef, pork, chicken, seafood, salsa, chili pepper, avocado, guacamole, cilantro (coriander), tomatoes, onions, lettuce, cheese and other ingredients allowing great versatility and variety.
Tacos are generally eaten without utensils.
The origins of the taco are not precisely known, and etymologies for the culinary usage of the word are generally theoretical.
According to one etymological theory, the term for the food came from Mexican Spanish taco, which in turn comes from the original Spanish taco, meaning “plug” or “wad”, similar to the shape to say, a folded wad of money bills.
Indigenous origins for the culinary word “taco” are also proposed. One possibility is that the word derives from the Nahuatl word “tlahco”, meaning “half” or “in the middle,” in the sense that food would be placed in the middle of a tortilla.
The taco predates the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico. There is anthropological evidence that the indigenous people living in the lake region of the Valley of Mexico traditionally ate tacos filled with small fish.
Writing at the time of the Spanish conquistadors, Bernal Díaz del Castillo documented the first taco feast enjoyed by Europeans, a meal which Hernán Cortés arranged for his captains in Coyoacán.
Tacos started appearing in the United States in the early 1900s as well. In San Antonio, a group of women called the Chili Queens sold tacos out of carts. Initially, they had a moderate amount of business, but the railroad started bringing in more and more tourists to the area who loved trying out Mexican food. Tacos became part of the “Tex-Mex” diet with the establishment of Taco Bell, which made tacos a quick, easily accessible meal.
Today, tacos rank among our most beloved fast foods, good for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a late-night snack after the bars close. Americans eat more than 4.5 billion tacos a year.
The world’s most expensive taco cost a whopping $25,000. This super-duper deluxe taco made with Kobe beef, beluga caviar and served on a gold flaked taco. The taco is also stuffed with langoustines, black truffle, brie cheese and is fully dressed with homemade salsa. It is served at Frida, the resort’s fine-dining enclave specializing in gourmet Mexican cuisine and named after famed artist Frida Kahlo. Frida is located along Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.
The largest serving of tacos (packaged) weighed 1,230.2 kg (2,712.13 lb) and was achieved by UberEats and El Tizoncito (both Mexico), at Bosque de Chapultepec, in Mexico City, Mexico, on 26 May 2017. The largest serving of tacos contained 36,300 tacos. Over 600 UberEATS drivers delivered the tacos.
Mexican cuisine has endless styles, flavors and colors; it is so extensive and multifaceted that it has been named as an “Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO. The Taco has become the symbol of Mexico’s cuisine.
In the United States, the National Taco Day is celebrated annually on October 4.
The most basic difference between burrito and taco is that burritos as a rule are much larger than tacos with single burritos comprising a whole meal. In the case of tacos you would have to consume several of them to be able to feel like you have had a meal.