Simple, delicious, and useful in a thousand ways: The tortilla is a staple of Mexican cooking, they have been around for centuries, yet few know just how “traditional” this traditional treat is.
“Tortilla” comes from the Spanish word for “little cake.” The Spanish named the tortilla after it was brought over to Europe from Central America. However, in parts of southern Spain, a tortilla is made of chickpea meal and is crips, thin, and fried. Although they look very similar to corn tortillas, these chickpea tortillas originated in Greece and were brought to Spain by Arabs hundreds of years ago.
There are two standard types of tortillas according to the main ingredient they’re made with, being either corn (corn tortillas) or wheat flour (flour tortillas). Besides the ingredients they are made of, there are some other differences between these two tortillas, and we are numbering some of them so you don’t get confused when using them for your recipes!
Differences between corn and flour tortillas
Color
Corn tortillas, according to the ingredient they are made of having a solid yellow color, apart from the flour tortillas that following this same logic have a more pale and white-like tone.
Size
Corn tortillas tend to be smaller than flour tortillas. This size difference affects directly the type of dishes and recipes they are used for.
Flavor
Because of the corn-based cooking of the corn tortilla, besides the thicker texture it has compared to flour tortillas, it also has a salty flavor and when roasting it acquires a crunchy texture that is often used for tacos. In this order of ideas, we can appreciate that flour tortillas don’t have a strong flavor to add to any recipe, such as its counterpart.
Uses
The most important part when cooking with tortillas: When can you use each one?
Because of everything stated before, corn tortillas are the most commonly used to hold the fillings of the tacos together and ensuring it doesn’t either drip or drop, whereas the flour tortillas, because of their bigger size and more soft texture are used to pack all the burrito fillings and assure it doesn’t escape and make a mess all over your plate!
However, each region of Mexico and even the Mexican cuisine is very diverse and if we are adding the Tex-Mex cuisine factor, we can see how this is all mixed… That’s why you don’t have to close yourself to try any kind of tortilla on any kind of recipe, as long as you enjoy what Mexico has to offer you through its gastronomy using tortillas such as:
Enchiladas
Tacos
Burritos
Fajitas
Quesadillas
Among many more!
The tortillas are such a flexible ingredient for recipes and that’s why it has been such a tradition all over Mexico for so many years. It’s not about which tortilla is better, if corn or flour, because each one has amazing things to offer to your recipes! Give them a try and see how you will never stop using them.
Thanks for Reading!
Latino Foods Team
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