Taco: Difference between revisions
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makes you poop. |
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{{Otheruses}} {{Distinguish|tako}} |
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[[Image:Barbacoa taco.jpg|right|thumb|280px|[[Barbacoa]] tacos.]] |
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A '''taco''' ({{IPA-en|ˈtɑːko}}) is a traditional [[Mexican cuisine|Mexican dish]] composed of a [[maize]] or wheat [[tortilla]] folded or rolled around a filling. The fact that a taco can be filled with practically any meat, fish, shellfish, vegetable, and cheese allows for great versatility and variety. A taco is generally [[Finger food|eaten out of hand]], without the aid of utensils, and is often accompanied by a garnish such as [[salsa (sauce)|salsa]] and vegetables such as [[cilantro]], onion, cabbage, tomato, or lettuce. |
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==Etymology== |
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According to the [[Real Academia Española]], the word '''taco''' has twenty seven definitions. The one referring to an edible snack food describes a dish composed of a rolled maize tortilla filled with food, typical of Mexico.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[Diccionario de la lengua española de la Real Academia Española|Diccionario de la Lengua Española]] |title=taco |url=http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltObtenerHtml?origen=RAE&IDLEMA=77735&NEDIC=Si |accessdate=2008-07-24 |publisher=Real Academia Española |isbn=8467003170 |year=2003 |language=[[Spanish language|Spanish]]}}</ref> The Online Etymological Dictionary defines '''taco''' as a "tortilla filled with spiced meat" and describes its etymology as derived from Mexican Spanish, "light lunch," literally, "plug, wadding."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=taco|title=Definition: Taco |title=Online Etymological Dictionary - Taco |first=Douglas |last=Harper |accessdate=2008-07-11}}</ref> The latter description is itself a reference to the earliest known mention of '''taco''' in print; appearing in 1607, the word signified a plug used to hold the ball of an [[arquebus]] in place prior to firing the weapon. The use of the Spanish word '''taco''' to describe a food of longstanding pre-Hispanic use, especially when other Mexican dishes retain names based on their indigenous roots, remains a puzzling mystery.<ref name="TacoInvention">{{cite journal |last=Pilcher |first=Jeffrey |date=Winter 2008 |title=Was the Taco Invented in Southern California? |journal=[[Gastronomica]] |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=26–38 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |location=[[Berkeley, California]] |issn=1529-3262 |doi=10.1525/gfc.2008.8.1.26}}</ref> |
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==History== |
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The taco predates the arrival of Europeans 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 which [[Hernán Cortés]] arranged for his captains in [[Coyoacán]]. (Note, however, that the native Nahuatl name for the flat corn bread used was ''tlaxcalli''. The Spanish give it the name ''tortilla''.)<ref name="HistoryA"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070718154326/http://food.oregonstate.edu/ref/culture/mexico_smith.html |
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|title=Tacos, Enchilidas and Refried Beans: The Invention of Mexican-American Cookery |
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|accessdate=2008-07-14 |
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|publisher=Oregon State University |
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|work=}} |
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</ref><ref name="History"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://www.iccjournal.biz/StudentScholars/Undergraduate/history_of_mexican_cuisine.htm |
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|title=History of Mexican Cuisine |
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|accessdate=2008-07-09 |
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|first=Margaret |last=Parker |
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|date=2006-10-12}} |
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</ref><ref name="History2"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://www.mexicanmercados.com/food/foodhist.htm |
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|title=A Thumbnail History of Mexican Food |
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|accessdate=2008-07-09 |
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|first=Jim |last=Conrad |
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|work=}} |
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</ref><ref name="History3"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Tortilla_Taco_history.htm |
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|title=History of Tortillas & Tacos |
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|accessdate=2008-07-14 |
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|first=Linda |last=Stradley |
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|publisher=What's Cooking America}} |
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</ref> |
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==Preparation== |
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A traditional Mexican taco is normally served on a flat tortilla that has been warmed up on a ''[[Comal (cookware)|comal]];'' since the tortilla is still soft, it can be folded over or pinched together into a U-shape for convenient consumption. |
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==Types== |
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[[Image:Mexico.Tacos.02.jpg|250px|thumb|right|[[adobada]] meat for tacos]] |
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*''Tacos de Asador'' ("spit" or "grill" tacos) may be composed of any of the following: ''[[carne asada]] tacos''; ''tacos de tripita'' ("[[tripe]] tacos"), grilled until crisp; and, ''[[chorizo]] asado'' (traditional Spanish style sausage). Each type is served on two overlapped small [[tortillas]] and sometimes garnished with [[guacamole]], [[salsa (sauce)|salsa]], onions, and cilantro. Also prepared on the grill is a sandwiched taco called ''mulita'' ("little mule") made with meat served between two tortillas and garnished with [[Oaxaca cheese|Oaxaca]] style cheese. ''"Mulita"'' is used to describe these types of sandwiched tacos in the Northern States of Mexico, while they are known as [[Gringa]] in the Mexican south and are prepared using [[wheat]] flour tortillas.<ref name="MexStreetTaco-Origin"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/puebla/kgtacos1.html |
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|title= Wrap It Up: A Guide to Mexican Street Tacos (Part One of Two) |
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|accessdate=2008-07-07 |
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|first=Karen Hursh |last=Graber |
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|publisher=Mexico Connect}} |
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</ref><ref name="MexStreetTaco-Types"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/puebla/kgtacos2.html |
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|title= Wrap It Up: A Guide to Mexican Street Tacos Part II: Nighttime Tacos |
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|accessdate=2008-07-07 |
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|first=Karen Hursh |last=Graber |
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|publisher=Mexico Connect}} |
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</ref> |
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*''Tacos de [[Cabeza]]'' or head tacos, in which there is a flat punctured metal plate from which steam emerges to cook the head of the cow. These inclue: ''[[Cabeza]]'', a serving of the muscles of the head; ''[[Sesos]]'' ("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 with occasional use of guacamole.<ref name="MexStreetTaco-Origin"/><ref name="MexStreetTaco-Types"/> |
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*''Tacos de Cazo'' for which a metal bowl filled with lard is typically used as a deep-fryer. Meats for these types of tacos typically include: ''[[Tripe|Tripa]]'' ("tripe", usually from a pig instead of a cow); ''[[Suadero]]'' (tender beef cuts), ''[[Carnitas]]'' and ''Buche'' (Literally, ''"[[Crop (anatomy)|crop]]"'', as in ''bird's crop''; here, it is fried pig's esophagus.<ref name="Buche"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://www.burritoblog.com/2006/04/buche_yummy_pig.html |
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|title=The Burrito Blog - Buche |
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|accessdate=2008-07-26 |
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||first=Jonah |last=Feld |
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|date=2006}} |
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</ref>)<ref name="MexStreetTaco-Origin"/><ref name="MexStreetTaco-Types"/> |
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*''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.<ref name="MexStreetTaco-Origin"/><ref name="TacosSudadosRecipe"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://cocina-mexico.com/ingles/menu/typical_food/20.html |
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|title=Tacos Sudados (Mexican recipe) |
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|accessdate=2008-07-09 |
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|publisher=Mexican Cuisine |
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|work=}} |
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</ref> |
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[[Image:Tacos de suadero.jpg|right|thumb|280px|Tacos de suadero (grey) and chorizo (red).]] |
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*''Tacos [[Al pastor]]''/''De [[Adobada]]'' ("shepherd style") are made of thin pork steaks seasoned with [[adobo]] seasoning, then skewered and overlapped on one another on a vertical rotisserie cooked and flame-broiled as it spins (analogous to the ''[[Döner kebab]]'' used in [[Greece|Greek]] restaurants to prepare [[gyros]]).<ref name="MexStreetTaco-Origin"/><ref name="MexStreetTaco-Types"/> |
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*''Tacos dorados'' (fried tacos) called ''flauta''s ("[[flute]]", because of the shape), or [[taquito]]s, for which the tortillas are filled with pre-cooked shredded chicken, beef or ''[[barbacoa]]'', rolled into an elongated cylinder and deep-fried until crisp. They are sometimes cooked in a [[microwave oven]] or [[broiled]].<ref name="MexStreetTaco-Origin"/><ref name="MexStreetTaco-Types"/> |
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*''Tacos de pescado'' ("fish tacos") originated in [[Baja California]] in Mexico, where they consist of grilled or fried fish, lettuce or cabbage, [[pico de gallo]], and a sour cream or citrus/mayonnaise sauce, all placed on top of a corn or flour tortilla. In the United States, they remain most popular in California and Colorado. In California, they are often found at street vendors, and a regional variation is to serve them with cabbage and coleslaw dressing on top.<ref name="MexStreetTaco-Origin"/><ref name="MexStreetTaco-Types"/> |
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As an accompaniment to tacos, many taco stands will serve whole or sliced red [[radishes]], lime slices, salt, pickled or grilled chilis (hot peppers), and occasionally [[cucumber]] slices, or grilled cambray onions. |
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==In the United States and Canada== |
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===Hard-shell tacos=== |
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[[Image:NCI Visuals Food Taco.jpg|left|thumb|Hard-shell taco made with a prefabricated shell.]] |
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Beginning from the early part of the twentieth century, various styles of tacos have become popular in the United States and Canada.<ref name="HistoryA"/> The style that has become most common is the hard-shell, U-shaped version first described in a cookbook authored by Fabiola Cabeza de Vaca Gilbert and published in [[Santa Fe]], [[New Mexico]] in 1949. These have been sold by restaurants and by fast food chains. Even non-Mexican oriented fast food restaurants have sold tacos. Mass production of this type of taco was encouraged by the invention of devices to hold the tortillas in the U-shape as they were deep-fried. A patent for such a device was issued to New York restaurateur Juvenico Maldonado in 1950, based on his patent filing of 1947. (U.S. Patent No. 2,506,305<ref> |
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{{Citation |
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|inventor-last=Maldonado |
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|inventor-first=Juvencio |
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|issue-date=[[1950-05-02]] |
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|publication-date=[[1947-06-21]] |
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|title=Form for frying tortillas to make fried tacos |
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|country-code=US |
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|patent-number=2506305}} |
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</ref>)<ref name="TacoInvention" /> Such tacos are crisp-fried corn tortillas filled with seasoned ground beef, cheese, lettuce and sometimes tomato or sour cream.<ref name="AmericanTaco"> |
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{{cite news |
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|first=Dagoberto |last=Gilb |
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|title=Taco Bell Nation |url=http://www.latimes.com/features/magazine/west/la-tm-tacobell12mar19,0,3787670.story |
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|work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |
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|date=2006-03-19 |
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|accessdate=2008-07-24}} |
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</ref> In this context, ''soft tacos'' are tacos made with [[wheat]] flour tortillas and filled with the same ingredients as a hard taco.<ref name="BigOven"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://www.bigoven.com/14723-(Homemade-Fresh)-Chorizo-Soft-Tacos-recipe.html |
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|title=Homemade Chorizo Soft Tacos (recipe) |
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|accessdate=2008-07-09 |
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|publisher=BigOven.com |
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|work=}} |
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</ref> |
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=== Puffy tacos, taco kits and breakfast tacos === |
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Since at least 1978, a variation called the "puffy taco", has been popular. Originating in [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]], and exemplified as prepared at ''Henry's Puffy Taco'' of that city, uncooked corn tortillas (flattened balls of [[masa]] dough) are quickly fried in hot oil until they expand and becomes "puffy".<ref name="Saveur Recipe"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://www.saveur.com/article/food/Puffy-Tacos |
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|title=Puffy Tacos (recipe from ''Saveur'') |
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|accessdate=2008-07-26 |
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|Publisher=Saveur |
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|date=2003}} |
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</ref> 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, opened ''Arturo's Puffy Taco'' in [[Whittier]], not long after Henry's opened.<ref name="Arturo’s"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://www.laweekly.com/eat+drink/counter-intelligence/getting-stuffed-at-arturos-puffy-taco/19285/ |
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|title=Getting Stuffed at Arturo’s Puffy Taco |
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|accessdate=2008-08-07 |
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|first=Jonathan |last=Gold |
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|work=[[LA Weekly]] |
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|publisher=LA Weekly LP |
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|date=2008-07-23}} |
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</ref> <ref name="Henry's"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://www.henryspuffytacos.com/ |
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|title=Henry's Puffy Tacos |
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|accessdate=2008-07-13 |
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|publisher=Henry's Puffy Tacos |
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|work=}} |
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</ref><ref name="PuffyAustin"> |
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{{cite news |
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|first=Barbara |last=Chisholm |
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|title=The Puffy Taco Invasion |
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|url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:208403 |
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|work=[[The Austin Chronicle]] |
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|volume=23 |issue=35 |
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|date=2004-04-30 |
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|accessdate=2008-07-24 |
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|publisher=Austin Chronicle Corp}} |
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</ref><ref name="Arturo's"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://www.yelp.com/biz/arturos-puffy-taco-whittier |
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|title=Arturo's Puffy Taco - Whittier CA |
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|accessdate=2008-07-13 |
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|publisher=Yelp |
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|work=}} |
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</ref> |
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For home cooks, taco kits are available at grocery and [[convenience store]]s and usually consist of taco shells (corn tortillas already fried in a U-shape), cheese sauce, seasoning mix and taco sauce. Commercial vendors for the home market also market soft taco kits with tortillas instead of taco shells.<ref name="OLP Taco Kit"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://www.ciao.co.uk/Old_El_Paso_Taco_Dinner_Kit__5314334 |
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|title=Old El Paso Taco Dinner Kit |
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|accessdate=2008-07-08 |
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|publisher=Ciao! Shopping Intelligence - UK (blog) |
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|work=}} |
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</ref><ref name="Ortega"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://www.ortega.com/products/dinner_kits.asp |
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|title=Ortega Taco Kits |
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|accessdate=2008-07-08 |
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|publisher=B&G Foods |
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|work=}} |
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</ref> |
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The breakfast taco, found in [[Tex-Mex cuisine]], is filled with meat, eggs or cheese with other ingredients.<ref name="BreakfastTaco"> |
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{{Cite web |
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|url=http://whatscookingamerica.net/Eggs/BreakfastTaco.htm |
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|title=Breakfast Tacos |
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|accessdate=2008-07-09 |
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|first=Linda |last=Stradley |
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|publisher=What's Cooking America}} |
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</ref> |
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==See also== |
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{{multicol}} |
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*[[Quesadilla]] |
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*[[Tostada]] |
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*[[Fajita]] |
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*[[Nachos]] |
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{{multicol-break}} |
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*[[Taco rice]] |
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*[[Taco salad]] |
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*[[Taquito]] |
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{{multicol-break}} |
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{{wiktionary}} |
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{{multicol-end}} |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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[[Category:Mexican cuisine]] |
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[[Category:Spanish loanwords]] |
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[[Category:Tortilla-based dishes]] |
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[[Category:Tex-Mex cuisine]] |
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[[Category:Sandwiches]] |
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[[Category:Fast food]] |
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[[Category:Cuisine of the Southwestern United States]] |
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[[cs:Tacos]] |
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[[de:Taco]] |
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[[es:Taco]] |
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[[eo:Tako]] |
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[[fr:Taco]] |
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[[ko:타코]] |
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[[id:Taco]] |
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[[it:Taco]] |
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[[he:טאקו]] |
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[[la:Taco]] |
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[[nl:Taco]] |
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[[ja:タコス]] |
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[[no:Taco]] |
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[[nn:Taco]] |
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[[pl:Tacos]] |
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[[pt:Taco (culinária)]] |
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[[ru:Тако]] |
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[[simple:Taco]] |
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[[fi:Taco]] |
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[[sv:Taco]] |
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[[zh:墨西哥卷饼]] |
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Revision as of 03:43, 22 September 2008
makes you poop.