Taco Trivia, 10 Taco Fun Facts You Never Knew
To start off with, did you know that the word ‘taco’ actually originates from the spoken word of the indigenous people in Mexico, the Aztec’s Nahuatl language, referring to a rolled or folded tortilla.
Did you also know, the hard shell taco was created by Glen Bell in the late 20th Century, who went on to create Taco Bell - arguably the most recognisable taco based fast-food chains in the world.
How about this one, a notable day in taco history is October 4th: World Taco Day! And nooo, I didn’t make that up! A day of indulgence for the mighty taco, to recognise its cultural significance! Mexico loves its native taco so much that they even have a separate day for it - March 31st!
If you’ve got a more expensive taste in food, check out the world’s most expensive taco. This taco at Grand Vela resort in Los Cabos will set you back just under the average UK salary and was known to cost $25,000! It featured: Langoustines, Kobe Beef, and Beluga Caviar (it should also be noted that this was a charity event and the money was given to a local children’s foundation).
Tacos are truly out of this world; you can even find them in space! As part of an advertising campaign in 2001, Taco Bell launched one of their menu items 100,000 feet into the sky before returning to earth. That’s not all! Tacos are also a favourite on the international space station, owing to them not creating a big cloud of floating crumbs like foods such as bread.
If you’re really hungry - take a look at this. One of the longest tacos in the world is 10.95 metres, requiring 8 grills to prepare the meat to fill it and 80 staff members to help make it. Another (unofficial) record taco made it all the way to 102 metres, boasting a meat filling of a whopping 1507 Kg. Reckon you could eat all that?
Having tacos for lunch right now? Well, Mexican tradition dictates that you should only eat certain tacos at certain times of the day. Seafood tacos should be consumed at lunchtime, with other meat-filled tacos being eaten later on in the day.
Fancy getting creative in the kitchen? Taco recipes are a truly global phenomenon, with culinary inspiration from not only Mexico and the US, but Korea, Japan and India too! Ingredients for these local variations include things like korean style bbq beef, sushi, and chicken tikka.
Did you know that the word “taco” in Spanish translates to “light meal”. Other translations for the word include “wedge”, or “plug”. That might explain why they’re shaped the way they are.
For our final fact - tortillas aren’t just tortillas. Regional variations of this important taco component have differing characteristics, with tacos in northern Mexico made out of thinner tortillas - perfect for stuffing with lots of filling while tortillas from central and southern Mexico are thicker - making them better for street tacos.
