Food in History

Photo of cafe/restaurant – curtesy of Sanly Bel, Pexels Photo of Tacos – curtesy of Chitokan C. – Pexels Photo of Man in Grey Hoodie – curtesy of Hunter Curtis – Pexels

I have fond memories of tacos growing up. My family and I never went out to local restaurants to eat tacos or even Mexican food in general.

Instead, every so often we would have taco nights where we would create our own depictions of the tastiest taco. Creating the craziest combinations and creating new family recipes was the best part.

Each person would create three of same tacos and we would have one of each kind. Whichever taco won would get its recipe written down in the family cookbook under the “TACO” section. After a few years we have a large variety of tacos to choose from that we know we will love! My favourite was the one I made once with breaded fish, pickled onions, homemade cilantro lime sauce and Pico de Gallo.

Photo of Fish Tacos – curtesy of Betsai Ekmeiro, Pexels

While the taco is a popular food item today, it also has an interesting past.

The word “TACO” had quite a number of meanings back in its early days. The first reference of the word “Taco” was in 1607 in French and referred to a cloth plug that held the ball in the chamber of an early firearm. In the eighteenth century, Spanish dictionaries stated that the word “taco” referred to a carpenter’s hammer, a ramrod, or a shot of liquor. ¹In the mid-nineteenth century, the word expanded the meaning to include a small bite of food, and only in the twentieth century was the Mexican version accepted. ²

Mexican food plays a big part in history, historians have noted that Mexican food has been globalized since 1492 with Columbus and ocean navigation. ³Then again globalized during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire which brought on culinary changes to livestock and crops. ⁴Another instance of globalization of Mexican food (and tacos) happened in 1822 when Mexicans began to establish their national cuisine after their fight for independence. ⁵

Image from “Mexico through the centuries” Volume III: “The war of independence” (digital image) – curtesy of Julian Artigas, Wikimedia Commons

Photo of Texas Border Patrol with Mexican Immigrants – curtesy of Harry Pennington, Wikimedia Commons

The fight for independence in the 1810s, economic struggles, and civil wars forced many struggling people to migrate to look for work. ⁶According to Jeffrey M. Pilcher – “unemployed miners brought their tacos with them to Mexico City, where urban workers found them a portable and convenient lunch, just as the miners did.” ⁷Bringing this dish over was a way for food to bring together family, strengthen cultural roots, a reminder of their home and the lives they left behind, and even hope for their new lives in new places that they immigrated to.

While in the states, the popular dish began to gain widespread recognition and Mexican family restaurants began to pop up and eventually spread throughout the country (before getting run out and taken over by big corporations such as Taco Bell) Bringing dishes that are culturally significant to them provided them with a connection to their authentic roots. Often connected to Mexican restaurants is the appearance of the taco truck ⁸

The taco truck has become place to explore Mexican food and other fusion foods. ⁹They have become a popular affordable option often favourited by the working class on the go. This also means that these trucks can travel to places where there are no Mexican restaurants or where people can access them easier in their day to day lives.

I personally love food trucks (especially taco trucks), I often try to go once a year to the local food festivals or food truck events. At the beginning of this April (2023) KPU Langley hosted the Greater Vancouver Food Truck Festival!

The Taco Tiger was by far my favourite!

Photo of Taco Truck – curtesy of Ashleigh Elstone Photo of stuffed tortillas – curtesy of Roman Odintsov – Pexels Photo of Menu – curtesy of Ashleigh Elstone

End Notes

Jeffrey M. Pilcher. “Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food.” Oxford University Press, Incorporated, (2012): 6. https://go.exlibris.link/LD96rKn6, accessed March 20^th, 2023.

Jeffrey M. Pilcher. “Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food.” Oxford University Press, Incorporated, (2012): 6. https://go.exlibris.link/LD96rKn6, accessed March 20^th, 2023.

Jeffrey M. Pilcher. “Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food.” Oxford University Press, Incorporated, (2012): 5. https://go.exlibris.link/LD96rKn6, accessed March 24^th, 2023.

Jeffrey M. Pilcher. “Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food.” Oxford University Press, Incorporated, (2012): 5. https://go.exlibris.link/LD96rKn6, accessed March 24^th, 2023.

Jeffrey M. Pilcher. “Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food.” Oxford University Press, Incorporated, (2012): 5. https://go.exlibris.link/LD96rKn6, accessed March 24^th, 2023.

Jeffrey M. Pilcher. “Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food.” Oxford University Press, Incorporated, (2012): 8 – 9. https://go.exlibris.link/LD96rKn6, accessed March 24^th, 2023.

Jeffrey M. Pilcher. “Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food.” Oxford University Press, Incorporated, (2012): 8 – 9. https://go.exlibris.link/LD96rKn6, accessed March 24^th, 2023.

Michael Soldatenko. “Tacos and Coloniality: A Review Essay.” Diálogo (Chicago, Ill.) 18, no. 1 (2015): 138. https://go.exlibris.link/dYj8JtXn, accessed March 26^th, 2023.

Michael Soldatenko. “Tacos and Coloniality: A Review Essay.” Diálogo (Chicago, Ill.) 18, no. 1 (2015): 139. https://go.exlibris.link/dYj8JtXn, accessed March 23^th, 2023.

Bibliography