National Crunchy Taco Day

Renee Comet (photographer) / Public domain

October 4th is National Crunchy Taco Day in the United States.

Tacos are a traditional Mexican dish in which a small wheat or corn tortilla is topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. Tacos can have a wide range of fillings, including meat, vegetables, seafood and cheese, and combinations of several ingredients are common. These are then garnished with such as sour cream, salsa and guacamole. Chillies and hot peppers are common accompaniments.

Crunchy tacos are perhaps the type that many are most familiar with; these have the tortillas folded into a U-shape and are fried, making them hard and crunchy, as opposed to the soft tacos. Soft tacos are wrapped around the fillings; crunchy tacos are stuffed with the filling.

National Taco Day

October 4th is National Taco Day in the United States.

Tacos are a type of versatile Mexican dish. A tortilla, which is a thin flatbread and can be made from either corn or wheat flour, is folded or wrapped around a variety of different fillings. The tortilla itself can also come in different varieties. The taco can be made with a hard shell, which is usually a pre-fabricated shell made from a taco that has been folded over into a U-shape and crisp fried, a soft shell, which is, naturally, softer and crispy tacos where the tortillas are fried. The taco concept is an old one, pre-dating European interaction with the New World.

Inside the taco are added the various ingredients. Popular ones include vegetables, meat (beef, pork and chicken are popular), seafood and cheese. The taco can then be garnished with a variety of dishes such as salsa, lettuce and guacamole, and other items such as jalapeño peppers.

Tacos are a common convenience food, as they are intended to be eaten without cutlery. Stands selling them as well as fast food chain restaurants are consequently common in some places.