# Holy frijole, I've been eating corn tortillas wrong all these years **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2018, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447 "2018-03-30T04:56:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/81 "2018-04-03T22:13:24Z")
Oh, and what kind of oil should I pan-fry my corn tortilla in? ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/82 "2018-04-03T22:37:52Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > “Queso” means CHEESE. If you order a cheeseburger and it comes without cheese, how is it a cheeseburger? If you make a grilled cheese sammich and it has no cheese in it, how does that work? Is mac 'n cheese without cheese what you expect when you order mac 'n cheese? You’d be totes fine with a plate full of macaroni without any damned cheese in it? You’d just shrug and say “Okay then!” if the server explained to you that in THEIR restaurant “mac 'n cheese” actually means uncooked pasta with peanut butter all over the top? I’m thinking that’s a hard no. But etymology and current definition don’t have to equate. Fajita might have originally meant a particular cut of beef, but in most of the fajita-serving world, you’d sound like a bit of a tiresome pedant to point out that it’s impossible to have a chicken - or vegetarian - fajita and so the menu is wrong. Or if you send your biscuits back because they haven’t been cooked twice. Or write to complain to the manufacturer that your jar of marmalade hasn’t even a scrap of quince in it. Or get really riled about people daring to call it ginger _ale_ when it’s just a sweet soda that’s not fermented and alcoholic. Sure, it might be that a quesadilla is a principally cheesy thing in the experience of many, but names become names rather than descriptions - especially when shared between languages - so the fact that the word’s got “quesa-” in it may ultimately cease to imply anything, regardless of what the dish turns out to be. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/83 "2018-04-03T23:12:00Z")
If I ordered a “quesadilla” and got something that didn’t have any cheese at all, I might agree that that was wrong. But everyone accepts that it contains ingredients other than cheese, right? So what’s the big deal if one quesadilla includes meat and another doesn’t? ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/84 "2018-04-03T23:17:46Z")
> **[Receta de Quesadillas de camarón fritas sencillas](https://www.cocinavital.mx/recetas/pescados-y-mariscos/quesadillas-camaron-fritas/2017/12/)** > > ¡Aquí la receta completa! Decídete a preparar unas quesadillas de camarón fritas acompañadas de guacamole. Son sencillas, de masa y facilísimas de hacer. Quesadillas fritas with shrimp. Queso is optional. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/85 "2018-04-03T23:24:29Z")
Quesadillas de huitlacoche (corn smut), flor de calabaza (squash blossoms), both are very common ingredients for fried quesadillas. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/nuylNrX0MQw/hqdefault.jpg "Quesadillas de Huitlacoche y Flor de Calabaza, La Ruta del Sabor, Lago de los Reyes Tlahuac") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuylNrX0MQw) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/86 "2018-04-03T23:24:41Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > But etymology and current definition don’t have to equate. Or “mincemeat,” which used to actually have meat in it. (Although I suppose you can argue “meat” is being used in a more general sense of “food,” though when “mincemeat” shows up, “meat” had the narrower meaning of animal flesh.) I feel like there’s a good number of these, where the name and etymology don’t contain the ingredient they were initially named after. Another one might be some American styles of enchiladas which are coated in tomato sauce rather than a chile sauce. Enchiladas, as the name suggests, are supposed to be made from a chile-based sauce. There is a separate dish called an entomatada that is made from a tomato sauce but, hey, they’re kind of the same idea and look the same to us, so we’ve just kept the enchilada name. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/87 "2018-04-03T23:26:09Z")
[quote=“CBEscapee, post:85, topic:811447”] Quesadillas de huitlacoche (corn smut), flor de calabaza (squash blossoms), both are very common. [/QUOTE] The huitlacoche ones are one of my favorites. Sometimes at the farmers markets here you can find someone selling fresh huitlacoche, but, unfortunately, most of the time I have to get the canned kind. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/88 "2018-04-03T23:52:57Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Or “mincemeat,” which used to actually have meat in it. (Although I suppose you can argue “meat” is being used in a more general sense of “food,” though when “mincemeat” shows up, “meat” had the narrower meaning of animal flesh.) > > I feel like there’s a good number of these, where the name and etymology don’t contain the ingredient they were initially named after. Another one might be some American styles of enchiladas which are coated in tomato sauce rather than a chile sauce. Enchiladas, as the name suggests, are supposed to be made from a chile-based sauce. There is a separate dish called an entomatada that is made from a tomato sauce but, hey, they’re kind of the same idea and look the same to us, so we’ve just kept the enchilada name. And then there are enfrijoladas. Basically the same technique and the names are formed according to Spanish constructions with prefixes and suffixes before and after the root. En-(chile)-ada, en-(tomate)-ada and en-(frijol)-ada. A tortilla smothered en purees of the different ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/89 "2018-04-04T00:11:26Z")
Ooo…enfrijolada. I’ll have to check that out! ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/90 "2018-04-09T15:17:39Z")
> [@Strassia](#): > > Here in the SF bay area, you can buy uncooked corn or flour tortillas in the cold display iin the deli at Safeway. Cook for about 1 minute a side in a non-stick pan and it is much better than even reheated pre-cooked tortillas. Plus, if you cook the corn ones a little longer and then drap them over a shaper, you get hard shells that don’t shatter. They are crispy on the outside, but still a little chewy on the inside. In the PacNW, I get the same uncooked corn tortillas from [Tortillaland](http://www.tortillaland.com) - short of fresh made, they are fantastic. If others haven’t tried them, you owe it to yourself. > [@SmartAleq](#): > > Now that you have discovered how to soften up corn tortillas, you are ready for the Jimboy’s experience. Jimboy’s Tacos is a small local chain in northern California that has a somewhat unique method–and the outlet at Denio’s Farmer’s Market in Roseville is the epitome of the art form. > > To do the taco Jimboy’s style, splash a bit of oil in a hot pan, put the tortilla down for just a couple seconds and flip it over. Place a goodly amount of shredded cheddar cheese all over it, then a nice blob of your taco meat. Fold it over, flatten it with a spatula to spread the meat and cheese out and flip it a couple times until the outside is a bit crispy. Remove to a plate, add lettuce, salsa and more cheese just because. Then eat and experience the greasy, tasty, drippy wonderfulness that is the Jimboy’s style taco. That’s as close as you can get to making the Jack in the Box sleaze tacos at home. My breakfast today was a bacon & egg version of Jimboy’s. Diced bacon and and egg between two Tortillaland corn tortillas, cooked fresh with cheese. Bacon first, then egg was cooked just enough to not be runny. Slide onto tortilla with cheese, top with cheese and second tortilla. Flip once to cook both sides and serve with salsa and sour cream… ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/91 "2018-04-10T00:10:35Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > I don’t bitch about people thinking a real taco has ground beef in it, which it most emphatically does NOT, traditionally speaking, (because that’s a Taco Bell thing and not a Mexican thing, just like the deep fried U-shaped “taco” shell) Have you ever eaten tacos before? Ground beef is NOT a “taco bell” thing, I’ve never seen a mexican restaurant, full sit down or fast food, that didn’t offer tacos with ground beef in it. It might not be how people in Mexico do it, but it’s no more a “taco bell” thing than nachos with cheese sauce instead of melted cheese, you know the same type of nachos many places from the movies to any 7-11 has. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/92 "2018-04-10T00:47:20Z")
Why do Americans always argue about what a taco is? A taco is simply something inside a tortilla much like a sandwich is something between bread. There are endless varieties. We were given a _taco de sal_ as infants. Our mothers or grandmothers would simply some coarse sea salt on a tortilla and roll it up. Something that simple. Whatever you decide to put in your tortilla, whether it is some type of animal protein, vegetable, dairy, salt or something else that sounds good, will be a taco. If we are having carnitas or carne asada or another guisado, I usually always make my own tacos by filling a tortilla with the meat and other condiments. Other times with other dishes I will have a rolled tortilla in my left hand and a fork or spoon in the other. Mexican meals can also include many different rice or pasta dishes. I never make a taco with those. But if I did, it would be a taco just like putting macaroni and cheese between two slices of bread would make a sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/93 "2018-04-10T00:50:08Z")
Speaking of sandwiches, is a hotdog really a sandwich? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/94 "2018-04-10T01:44:04Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Have you ever eaten tacos before? Ground beef is NOT a “taco bell” thing, I’ve never seen a mexican restaurant, full sit down or fast food, that didn’t offer tacos with ground beef in it. It might not be how people in Mexico do it, but it’s no more a “taco bell” thing than nachos with cheese sauce instead of melted cheese, you know the same type of nachos many places from the movies to any 7-11 has. I’ve eaten fish tacos from a street vendor in Ensenada so yeah, I have eaten some tacos. And I eat tacos from multiple taco trucks around my neighborhood, where none of the people working the trucks speak English and none of which serve ground beef. My next door neighbor, who also doesn’t speak English and who runs a local Mexican restaurant (El Cazador on Foster Rd) doesn’t serve ground beef tacos either. Carne asada, sure. Ground beef, no. Also conspicuous by their absence are hard fried taco shells. Just don’t happen. Hey, ground beef tacos can be pretty good, such as the Jimboy’s version, but nobody’s trying to make out like they’re authentic Latinx food. Hell, my local tienda doesn’t even sell ground beef in the butcher section. They make bomb tortillas though and the salsa molcajete is to die for. Also chicharrones as thick as your thumb. Those make some really good tacos too. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/95 "2018-04-10T01:49:30Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I’ve never seen a mexican restaurant, full sit down or fast food, that didn’t offer tacos with ground beef in it. It’s certainly not a given you’ll find them here at a taqueria or Mexican restaurant. Most probably do have a picadillo taco (which is usually made with ground beef here), but I can think of several off the top of my head that do not. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/96 "2018-04-10T01:54:48Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Carne asada, sure. Ground beef, no. Also conspicuous by their absence are hard fried taco shells. Just don’t happen. Maybe not fried taco shells, but tacos can certainly be fried (see _tacos dorados_), which give you a hard shell, but not that stupid preformed one you get at Taco Bell or from Ortega taco kits. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/97 "2018-04-10T01:57:35Z")
Am I the only one who thinks those hard taco shells in the kits really stink? I mean, in a super unpleasant way? Because I find them gagalicious. There’s nothing worse than going to somebody’s “Taco Night” and finding nothing but those…things. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/98 "2018-04-10T02:07:07Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Am I the only one who thinks those hard taco shells in the kits really stink? I mean, in a super unpleasant way? Because I find them gagalicious. There’s nothing worse than going to somebody’s “Taco Night” and finding nothing but those…things. No, they are awful and just impossible to eat as they shatter into a million little pieces. I bought an Ortega kit a few months ago because it was on clearance and I wanted to recreate a bit of “80s taco night” nostalgia. Those things were terrible. A freshly fried taco made from a corn tortilla holds its shape reasonably well. It does not shatter into like those things do. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/99 "2018-04-10T03:22:13Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I would think gas, but I have an induction stove. I assume that won’t get me far. 🙂 When I had an induction stove top, I used my cast iron griddle. It worked fine. Now that I have a gas stove top, I still use my cast iron griddle. > [@CBEscapee](#): > > And then there are enfrijoladas. Basically the same technique and the names are formed according to Spanish constructions with prefixes and suffixes before and after the root. > > En-(chile)-ada, en-(tomate)-ada and en-(frijol)-ada. A tortilla smothered en purees of the different ingredients. Enfrijoladas are a family staple. It’s a quick and easy meal. Recommended. > [@jasg](#): > > In the PacNW, I get the same uncooked corn tortillas from [Tortillaland](http://www.tortillaland.com) - short of fresh made, they are fantastic. If others haven’t tried them, you owe it to yourself. They make flour tortillas too. Also recommended. > [@TBG](#): > > Have you ever eaten tacos before? Ground beef is NOT a “taco bell” thing, I’ve never seen a mexican restaurant, full sit down or fast food, that didn’t offer tacos with ground beef in it. It might not be how people in Mexico do it, but it’s no more a “taco bell” thing than nachos with cheese sauce instead of melted cheese, you know the same type of nachos many places from the movies to any 7-11 has. Yeah, no. Ground beef is not a staple at most Mexican restaurants. It may be common a Tex-Mex type places, which are more American than Mexican. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447.md?page=4)