Well if you want to draw the ire of any of our friends in Mexico, just pose this question to them, is their beloved taco a sandwich?
So before we take a poll and before there's a 2.567 hour debate over the subject, let's dive into a little history of both, that may tell the tale.
The older of the two is probably the sandwich, although that's debatable. Most have heard that its attributed to the Earl of Sandwich in 1782, a fellow by the name of John Montagu, who asked for something he could eat without having to get up from his card game. A servant brought him a bit of cold meat between two pieces of bread, and voila — the word “sandwich” was born!
But there's really a little more to it. The sandwich has morphed into a myriad of different types and styles. From our friends at Wikipedia;
"In the 21st century there has been considerable debate over the precise definition of sandwich, and specifically whether a hot dog or open sandwich can be categorized as such. In the United States, the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration are the responsible agencies. The USDA uses the definition, "at least 35% cooked meat and no more than 50% bread" for closed sandwiches, and "at least 50% cooked meat" for open sandwiches. However, the same USDA manual determines the burritos and fajitas are "sandwich-like", and frankfurters are "sandwich type". Stromboli is explicitly excluded from being a sandwich. In Britain, the British Sandwich Association defines a sandwich as "any form of bread with a filling, generally assembled cold", a definition which includes wraps and bagels, but excludes dishes assembled and served hot, such as burgers."
So...does the taco fit the definition of a sandwich?
As to our friend the taco. It's largely attributed to some 18th century silver minors in Mexico who made up little shaped charges they called taquitos. But again from Wikipedia;
"There is significant debate about the origins of the taco in Mexico, with some arguing that the taco predates the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico, since there is anthropological evidence that the indigenous people living in the lake region of the Valley of Mexico traditionally ate tacos filled with small fish. Writing at the time of the Spanish conquistadors, Bernal Díaz del Castillo documented the first taco feast enjoyed by Europeans, a meal which Hernán Cortés arranged for his captains in Coyoacán. Others argue that the advent of the taco is much more recent, with one of the more popular theories being that the taco was invented by silver miners in the 18th century,"
So...since there seems to be a different but parallel origin of the taco versus the sandwich, obviously one does not seemed to have influenced the other. It's simply a case of having a convenient vessel with which to hold and eat any variety of foods, making the taco unique to the New World versus the sandwich to the Old. They could be classified as the same or they stand alone as different ways to accomplish the same thing.
So...I leave the question open to debate and your opinion. Is the taco a sandwich??
So before we take a poll and before there's a 2.567 hour debate over the subject, let's dive into a little history of both, that may tell the tale.
The older of the two is probably the sandwich, although that's debatable. Most have heard that its attributed to the Earl of Sandwich in 1782, a fellow by the name of John Montagu, who asked for something he could eat without having to get up from his card game. A servant brought him a bit of cold meat between two pieces of bread, and voila — the word “sandwich” was born!
But there's really a little more to it. The sandwich has morphed into a myriad of different types and styles. From our friends at Wikipedia;
"In the 21st century there has been considerable debate over the precise definition of sandwich, and specifically whether a hot dog or open sandwich can be categorized as such. In the United States, the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration are the responsible agencies. The USDA uses the definition, "at least 35% cooked meat and no more than 50% bread" for closed sandwiches, and "at least 50% cooked meat" for open sandwiches. However, the same USDA manual determines the burritos and fajitas are "sandwich-like", and frankfurters are "sandwich type". Stromboli is explicitly excluded from being a sandwich. In Britain, the British Sandwich Association defines a sandwich as "any form of bread with a filling, generally assembled cold", a definition which includes wraps and bagels, but excludes dishes assembled and served hot, such as burgers."
So...does the taco fit the definition of a sandwich?
As to our friend the taco. It's largely attributed to some 18th century silver minors in Mexico who made up little shaped charges they called taquitos. But again from Wikipedia;
"There is significant debate about the origins of the taco in Mexico, with some arguing that the taco predates the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico, since there is anthropological evidence that the indigenous people living in the lake region of the Valley of Mexico traditionally ate tacos filled with small fish. Writing at the time of the Spanish conquistadors, Bernal Díaz del Castillo documented the first taco feast enjoyed by Europeans, a meal which Hernán Cortés arranged for his captains in Coyoacán. Others argue that the advent of the taco is much more recent, with one of the more popular theories being that the taco was invented by silver miners in the 18th century,"
So...since there seems to be a different but parallel origin of the taco versus the sandwich, obviously one does not seemed to have influenced the other. It's simply a case of having a convenient vessel with which to hold and eat any variety of foods, making the taco unique to the New World versus the sandwich to the Old. They could be classified as the same or they stand alone as different ways to accomplish the same thing.
So...I leave the question open to debate and your opinion. Is the taco a sandwich??
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