Why It's A Mistake To Eat Tacos With Cold Tortillas

Everyone has a different kind of relationship with tortillas. For some, it's non-existent. After all, not everyone likes or can eat tortillas. Others have never even tried them. But in some homes, tortillas are as essential as toilet paper. Then there are the people who grew up eating them — at home, in restaurants, or both — but haven't yet prepared a tortilla-based food in their own home. After all, there's a first time for everything, right?

So if you plan on buying tortillas for homemade tacos for the first time, there are some do's and don'ts to consider, specifically with corn tortillas. Preparing the meat filling for your tacos is one thing. The main factor you have to keep in mind is ensuring the meat is cooked all the way and seasoned to your liking. Easy enough, but preparing the tortillas is another thing.

Although store-bought tortillas are already cooked, that doesn't mean you can just pull them straight from the bag, fill them with meat or the filling of your choice, and eat them. There's actually another factor you should consider.

When it comes to nutrition, corn tortillas reign over flour, as WebMD explains, but when it comes to softness and pliability, flour tortillas are the winner. Cold or room-temperature corn tortillas tend to be a bit more stiff and inflexible than flour, leaving them prone to cracking. So if you were to fill one with meat and fold it to take a bite, there's a chance it will crack and fall apart. R.I.P., taco.

This is why it's so important to always warm your tortillas before eating them. MasterClass claims heating them will make them soft, flexible, and strong enough to hold your taco together as you eat it. Although flour tortillas typically hold up better than corn, you can warm them up, too, to make them softer and, well, warmer. What's the best way to heat them? Cookbook author Laura Fuentes shared a few methods on the MOMables YouTube channel.

If you have a gas stove, you can use a pair of tongs to hold the tortillas, one at a time, a few inches over a medium flame, as Laura Fuentes demonstrates on YouTube. Heat each side for about 30 seconds. You can also warm them in a cast iron or non-stick pan over the stove, whether it's gas or electric. It takes 30 seconds per side with this method, too.

Old El Paso claims another great method to heat tortillas involves placing the tortillas on a moist paper towel and microwaving them for about 30 seconds. Using the oven is also an option. Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and place them in a preheated oven (300 degrees) for about 12 minutes.

After warming the tortillas, Fuentes recommends transferring them onto a clean kitchen towel or paper towel and wrapping them up to retain the heat and keep them soft. These methods will soften your tortillas and make them more pliable so you can enjoy your tacos without them falling apart. Say no to cold tacos. Buen provecho!