Burrito

A burrito (English: /bəˈriːtoʊ/, Spanish: [buˈrito] ^ⓘ) or burro in Mexico is, historically, a regional name, among others, for what is known as a taco, a tortilla filled with food, in other parts of the country. The term burrito was regional, specifically from Guanajuato, Guerrero, Michoacán, San Luis Potosí, Sonora and Sinaloa, for what is known as a taco in Mexico City and surrounding areas, and codzito in Yucatán and Quintana Roo. Due to the cultural influence of Mexico City, the term taco became the default, and the meaning of terms like burrito and codzito were forgotten, leading many people to create new meanings and folk histories.

In modern times, it is considered by many as a different dish in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine that took form in Ciudad Juárez, consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped into a sealed cylindrical shape around various ingredients. In Central and Southern Mexico, burritos are still considered tacos, and are known as tacos de harina ("wheat flour tacos"). The tortilla is sometimes lightly grilled or steamed to soften it, make it more pliable, and allow it to adhere to itself. Burritos are often eaten by hand, as their tight wrapping keeps the ingredients together. Burritos can also be served "wet"; i.e., covered in a savory and spicy sauce, when they would be eaten with a fork and knife.

Burritos are filled with savory ingredients, most often a meat such as beef, chicken, or pork, and often include other ingredients, such as rice, cooked beans (either whole or refried), vegetables, such as lettuce and tomatoes, cheese, and condiments such as salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, or crema.

Burritos are often contrasted in present times with similar dishes such as tacos, in which a small hand-sized tortilla is folded in half around the ingredients rather than wrapped and sealed, or with enchiladas, which use corn masa tortillas and are covered in a savory sauce to be eaten with a fork and knife.

The word burrito means "little donkey" in Spanish, the diminutive form of burro, or "donkey". Sonoran historian and politician, Horacio Sorbazo Díaz, explained that the term originated in Sonora where some dubious taco stands would sell donkey meat instead of beef, and people, maliciously, began calling tacos "burritos" implying they were made with donkey meat. Another possible origin is that it derives from the tendency for burritos to contain a lot of different things similar to how a donkey would be able to carry a large burden.

Before the development of the modern burrito, the Maya civilization of Mexico used corn tortillas as early as 1500 BC to wrap foods, with fillings of chili peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, squash, and avocados. Historically, the Pueblo peoples of the Southwestern US also made tortillas filled with beans and meat sauce and prepared much like the modern burrito. But these preparations could also be said to be the origin of the simpler taco, rather than the modern burrito.

The precise origin of the modern burrito is not known, but there is evidence that in Mexico burrito was just another name, among others, for a taco, a rolled tortilla, whether corn or wheat, filled with meat or other ingredients. In the 1895 Diccionario de Mejicanismos by Feliz Ramos i Duarte, burrito was identified as the regional name given in the Mexican state of Guanajuato to what is known as a taco in other regions:

Burrito: Tortilla arrollada, con carne u otra cosa dentro, que en Yucatán llaman coçito, y en Cuernavaca y en Mexico, taco.