National Taco Day

The story

A taco is a corn or wheat tortilla folded or rolled around a filling, eaten by hand and topped with salsa, onion, cilantro, and lime. Tortillas themselves are ancient: people in Mesoamerica were making flatbreads from nixtamalized corn thousands of years ago, and they used them to scoop up beans, chilies, fish, and other foods long before the word "taco" existed.

The word itself seems to have appeared in 18th-century Mexico. One theory links it to the silver mines, where "tacos" were little charges of gunpowder wrapped in paper, a nod to the spicy fillings. Mexican immigrants brought tacos to the United States in the early 1900s, and by mid-century, crispy hard-shell tacos and chains like Taco Bell, founded in 1962, had made them a national favorite.

Today there is a taco for every taste. Classics from Mexico include al pastor, spit-roasted pork with pineapple inspired by Lebanese shawarma, carnitas, barbacoa, carne asada, and Baja-style fish tacos. Taco trucks, Korean-Mexican fusion, and Taco Tuesday specials keep the tradition evolving in the US.

On National Taco Day, the first Tuesday in October, visit a taqueria or taco truck, set up a taco bar at home, or try a filling you have never tasted.