Mexican food has become a household staple in most parts of the United States. It?s popularity has grown exponentially along with the recent population increase of those with Mexican heritage. All over the U.S. Mexican restaurants have popped up in the country’s most populated cities, to draw a large amount of customers who love and enjoys the food. As of 2011, there are 38,000 Mexican restaurants dispersed all across the American landscape. One of the major staples of Mexican food are tortillas.
These flat bread like pancakes are used for a number of delicious dishes including, burritos, quesadillas, tacos and fajitas. The list goes on and on. These filling flat pancake treats can and are used in every single way possible. The ways they can be eaten and combined with other recipes are practically universal. While a tortilla can be made with any type of grain or flour there are two main types that are used by restaurants and individual households. They are flour tortillas and corn tortillas. So what?s the difference between flour and corn tortillas? Let?s take a look at how they differ while delving into some of the nutritional benefits of Mexican food at the same time.
Corn tortillas unlike flour tortillas goes as far back as the pre-colonial era when the Mayans and Aztecs most of what is presently known as Mexico today. It is believed that Mexican cuisine was derived from what the Mayan Indians prepared as far as 2000 years ago. It was sold in the majority of public markets and eaten by both royalty and ordinary people. The biggest difference between flour and corn tortillas is definitely texture. Corn tortillas are much tougher and have quite a bite to them. They are also very pliable, firm and chewy. Corn tortillas are also considered to be much healthier than its counterpart. Some of the customers of what people might consider the best Mexican restaurants in the country prefer to eat corn tortillas for its lesser fat content.
Taste is also another major difference between flour and corn tortillas. Corn tortillas are a whole grain type of food and the taste differs from that of processed white flour. Corn flour has a very grainy and salty kind of taste to it. Corn tortillas are also considered to be a little messy to eat at times. It becomes very firm if its not eaten warm. They tend to break apart if eaten with your hands while it?s cool. But with their strong and rigorous flavor, they are just perfect with the right amount of sauce.
Flour tortillas are considered by many as the second best thing besides sliced bread. They come pretty close to bread but require way less ingredients and time to make. While it?s not as old as corn tortillas, it?s become much more popular in the U.S. due to its similarities to bread. It’s a major option for any kind of hand held food like sandwiches, wraps and even small pizzas. That?s another huge difference between difference between flour and corn tortillas. Flour tortillas are used for much more types of foods besides just Mexican foods. That?s exactly how to spot authentic Mexican food from the commercialized or integrated versions. If they are using flour tortillas for dishes that are not related to Mexican food than most likely the restaurant is not authentic.
The last and final difference between flour and corn tortillas is that flour tortillas are used more for burritos as opposed to corn tortillas which due to their versatility are used more for tacos. Flour tortillas also contain much fat and gluten. They are in general, not as healthier to consume than their whole grain counterpart. The flour is made from finely ground wheat and is mostly bleached white.
One out of every 10 restaurants in the U.S. sells Mexican food, making it the most popular style of international cuisine in the country. Mexican food continues to be the most popular ethnic food segment in the United States with a 42 percent share of ethnic food sales according to research. It?s fair to say that this food item is here to stay for the long forever.