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The world of tacos is hardly defined, as its elements are always evolving. Here's a snapshot of what tacos in America look like today.
Everyone's abuelita prepares “real” Mexican food.
This is the Abuelita Principle, a term I coined to describe an argument I often hear when debating the legitimacy of certain Mexican foods. It points to a fallacy of authenticity that simultaneously informs and undermines the dynamic culinary culture that we know as “Mexican food.” “Abuelita” means “little grandmother,” a term of endearment for elderly matriarchs, but in this context it also stands in for “authentic Mexican cook,” and so the Abuelita Principle is both true and not true: true in that every family tweaks recipes according to their tastes, creating a new, distinct Mexican food that changes with the home address; not true in that the kind of authenticity it espouses is limited and ignorant of history.
Abusing the Abuelita Principle has serious consequences, for the cuisine in general and for tacos in particular. It offers a cramped view of a gastronomy that is kinetic and expansive. It restricts Mexican food to an imaginary, rigid ideal, one confined to specific borders and bloodlines, one that cannot account for how diverse and delicious Mexican cuisine is today. If we were to apply the Abuelita Principle rigidly, tacos al pastor, one of the most famous Mexican dishes, couldn’t be called authentically Mexican. Setting aside the fact that pork isn’t indigenous to the Americas, or even that tacos al pastor were invented in the mid-20th century, the Abuelita Principle would necessarily exclude the Lebanese immigrants—or Iraqi immigrants, depending on who you ask—behind the creation of spit-roasted pork tacos árabes on pita-like flour tortillas in Puebla, which evolved into the pineapple-topped tacos that everyone loves today
The taco does not recognize borders; the taco doesn’t accept the limits of a finite toolbox, nor does it recognize the iron rule of elderly matriarchs. I know this because I’ve travelled the continent, I’ve visited 38 cities, eaten at more than a thousand taco spots, and listened to countless taqueros, cooks, and scribes to chronicle the stories of the tacos native to the United States and the people behind them, how they connect to Mexico, and how they might be developing in the future. The culmination of this work was my book, American Tacos: A History and Guide, published by the University of Texas Press in the spring of 2020. The book’s main section outlines several stateside taco styles, all of them dominated by fried tacos—crispy delights that remain the most commonly consumed tacos by Americans—but there are others. Some began as regional specialties now available across the United States; others will forever be anchored to their geographical area.
I’ve put together a list of brief summaries of a range of taco styles that exist in the United States. This is not an exhaustive list, and it isn’t prescriptive; think of it as a snapshot of the current taco moment in this country, but remember that tacos are always evolving and expanding, and while I won’t vouch for any one style’s “authenticity,” there are probably some abuelitas out there making tacos exactly like the ones described below, and will be for some time to come.
Breakfast Tacos
Continued below.
https://www.seriouseats.com/2021/01/taco-style-guide.html
Everyone's abuelita prepares “real” Mexican food.
This is the Abuelita Principle, a term I coined to describe an argument I often hear when debating the legitimacy of certain Mexican foods. It points to a fallacy of authenticity that simultaneously informs and undermines the dynamic culinary culture that we know as “Mexican food.” “Abuelita” means “little grandmother,” a term of endearment for elderly matriarchs, but in this context it also stands in for “authentic Mexican cook,” and so the Abuelita Principle is both true and not true: true in that every family tweaks recipes according to their tastes, creating a new, distinct Mexican food that changes with the home address; not true in that the kind of authenticity it espouses is limited and ignorant of history.
Abusing the Abuelita Principle has serious consequences, for the cuisine in general and for tacos in particular. It offers a cramped view of a gastronomy that is kinetic and expansive. It restricts Mexican food to an imaginary, rigid ideal, one confined to specific borders and bloodlines, one that cannot account for how diverse and delicious Mexican cuisine is today. If we were to apply the Abuelita Principle rigidly, tacos al pastor, one of the most famous Mexican dishes, couldn’t be called authentically Mexican. Setting aside the fact that pork isn’t indigenous to the Americas, or even that tacos al pastor were invented in the mid-20th century, the Abuelita Principle would necessarily exclude the Lebanese immigrants—or Iraqi immigrants, depending on who you ask—behind the creation of spit-roasted pork tacos árabes on pita-like flour tortillas in Puebla, which evolved into the pineapple-topped tacos that everyone loves today
The taco does not recognize borders; the taco doesn’t accept the limits of a finite toolbox, nor does it recognize the iron rule of elderly matriarchs. I know this because I’ve travelled the continent, I’ve visited 38 cities, eaten at more than a thousand taco spots, and listened to countless taqueros, cooks, and scribes to chronicle the stories of the tacos native to the United States and the people behind them, how they connect to Mexico, and how they might be developing in the future. The culmination of this work was my book, American Tacos: A History and Guide, published by the University of Texas Press in the spring of 2020. The book’s main section outlines several stateside taco styles, all of them dominated by fried tacos—crispy delights that remain the most commonly consumed tacos by Americans—but there are others. Some began as regional specialties now available across the United States; others will forever be anchored to their geographical area.
I’ve put together a list of brief summaries of a range of taco styles that exist in the United States. This is not an exhaustive list, and it isn’t prescriptive; think of it as a snapshot of the current taco moment in this country, but remember that tacos are always evolving and expanding, and while I won’t vouch for any one style’s “authenticity,” there are probably some abuelitas out there making tacos exactly like the ones described below, and will be for some time to come.
Breakfast Tacos
Continued below.
https://www.seriouseats.com/2021/01/taco-style-guide.html