October 4th was National Taco Day #NationalTacoDay We had planned on making Fried Chicken, Homemade Mashed Taters and Corn on the Cob for dinner but we had errands to run and it got to late to cook Fried Chicken which wouldn’t have been done until Charlie went to bed.
Instead because it was #NationalTacoDay I asked Charlie if he would want the bag of Tacos and Burritos from Taco Casa for him and Tim. Charlie said that would be fine but if I had knew how much that dinner was going to cost us I would have went to Frijoles and Charlie and I would have been able to get Burrito Grande Dinner and yes, it is grande.
Hindsight is hindsight and next time I will research restaurants before I order food and pick what is cheaper and would fit into our budget better. In the meantime we was able to celebrate #NationalTacoDay because all of us had Tacos, Burritos and I even had a Taco Salad.
Consider National Taco Day, October 4th every year, a concentrated and intensified version of “Taco Tuesdays” we all enjoy. On National Taco Day many restaurants bring in Happy Hour-like crowds. Come to think of it, to further whet your appetite for the subject, get this: the phrase “Taco Tuesday” was actually trademarked across the Country in 1989 by a Wyoming-based fast-food chain called Taco John’s, except in New Jersey, where the trademark had already been claimed by Gregory’s Restaurant & Bar back in ‘82.
However, nobody needs to worry about the legality of what their dinner is called. On National Taco Day, we only need to grab Tortillas and stuff them with savory fillings, from the traditional Carne Asada, Cheese, Tomato, Lettuce and Sour Cream, to more exotic gustatory delights like Fish, Chorizo, even Tongue, to name only a few of the “meat component” alternatives.
Even the word “stuff” is no accident; many believe that the word Taco derives from the Spanish “Aaco,” meaning “to stuff.” I didn’t know that and Charlie has been wanting to learn Spanish and now I can teach my son where the word taco came from. You should share this information with your family as well.
National Taco Day is celebrated on October 4th every year in the U.S. There are some previous mentions of Taco Day being celebrated on May 3rd, but that is no longer the case. In Mexico, Día del Taco or Day of the Taco is celebrated on March 31st.
The anthropologist and historian Arturo Warman (1937 — 2003) specialized in prehistoric Mexican culture for much of his career, and was cited as saying that it was the Aztecs and Mayans who hybridized wild grasses beginning around 3,000 BC to produce the large, nutritious kernels we now know as Corn.
There is people who feel fine marking that time as the true beginning of the Taco as foodstuff, because the Corn Tortilla became such a versatile part of Mexican cuisine so quickly, spreading far and wide and only increasing in the number of its fans, some of whose descendants are of course the Taco-loving foodies of today.
We’re not sure if the calendar day was October 4th that conquistador Hernando Cortez mentioned the native Flatbread “Tlaxcalli” in a letter to Spain’s King Charles V, but the year was 1520 and it was then that Cortez and his fellows dubbed the food “Tortilla.”
From that point forward, it was inevitable that advances in both culinary science and communications would bring the Taco exploding onto dining-room tables across the globe. By 1914, Californian cookbooks had begun to include Taco recipes. In the following decades, the Taco has fully lived up to its definition (akin to the generic term “Sandwich”) and became nearly ubiquitous. People don’t have a single complaint.
National Taco Day Activities
- If you have the opportunity today head out to your local Taqueria, Mexican restaurant, or Taco Bell and you’ll be amazed at the various locations you’ll find nearby. Walk in and enjoy a finely crafted Taco at your fingertips.
- Prepare Tacos for dinner this evening and choose from one of the many Taco recipes to be found online, then go to your Supermarket to purchase the ingredients, and get down to cooking! Most importantly, make those Tacos with love. A Taco press and a deep fryer go a long way in making your National Taco Day efficient, as well.
- If you have the opportunity today then you should give the gift of Tacos to a loved one, friend, or even a complete stranger you pass on the street. Together we’ll make the world a better place, one Taco at a time.
AMAZING FACTS ABOUT CORN TORTILLAS
- The word “Maize” was first used by the Taino peoples indigenous to the Antilles and the Bahamas, though technically their word was “Mahiz” and only changed to “Maize” when adopted by Spanish explorers.
- ”A popular use of the earlier gas-powered engines and electric motors was to grind grain for “Masa,” the Dough or Paste that was then flattened into Tortillas.
- Though there are fluctuations in the market involving more variables than we can list here, it’s Mission is the top-selling Tortilla brand in the U.S., out of about 450 distinct vendors.
- In terms of Tortilla consumption, the typical Mexican family of four eats more than two pounds of Tortillas per day. With my husband using Tortialla for everything I believe that.
- Imagine holding a single Tortilla in one hand, and eight sticks [two pounds] of Butter or Margarine in the other, and compare).
- As of August, 2019, the Tortilla-production industry employed over 21,000 people in the United States alone.
Why People Love National Taco Day
- The possibilities are endless when you create your own combination of Meats, Cheese, Vegetables, Seasonings and Sauces and you will be able to have your Taco your own way.
- While some people love sitting down and taking their time to enjoy a great Taco, others simply have a fast-paced lifestyle. For those who are always on the go, Tacos are always a great idea.
- Tacos are the ultimate comfort food and it’s hard not to get excited for those crisp Taco Shells or Soft Tortillas, filled with goodness.
- Tacos can be big or small, spicy or sweet, plus Tacos can be crafted to fit any taste including Vegetarian, Vegan, Kosher, Lactose-Intolerant, Gluten Free and so much making meaning there’s a taco for everyone.
- Don’t forget there are Dessert Tacos as well to make your meal complete.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
