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A taco is fillings wrapped in a tortilla. The tortilla can be crisp (a taco shell), cooked soft or uncooked, flour or corn, and fully rolled or just folded. Fillings include meats, cheese, vegetables, and salsa.
A fajita is a specific type of taco, specifically one with a filling of marinated and grilled skirt steak. Tacos with other meats prepared the same way (especially chicken) are also usually called fajitas. Other fillings include onions and peppers (cooked with the meat), cheese, salsa and other condiments.
A burrito is fillings fully enclosed in a tortilla (rolled with ends tucked in) and cooked; it can be either baked or fried. Some outlets call a taco a "burrito" when they fully enclose the contents, especially breakfast tacos, even though they don't fry or bake them.
Tacos are an ancient food. The history of Mesoamerican cuisine has included some form of the taco for centuries. Traditional tacos are made with warmed corn tortillas around the size of a hand, folded or wrapped around a simple filling, and sometimes garnished with salsa, sour cream, or other sauces. Most tacos have a single element in their filling, such as carne asada or pulled pork. Some cooks also made tacos in hard shells, which were historically made with stale tortillas.
The burrito, on the other hand, is a relatively recent invention. The development of the burrito is usually credited to an enterprising 20th century merchant who wanted to sell plates of rice and beans without having to provide plates. He stumbled upon the idea of wrapping ingredients in an oversized wrapper made from a wheat tortilla, with the wrapper standing in as the plate and insulating the ingredients. Reflecting these origins, burritos are usually tightly wrapped to form a parcel, rather than simply folded or rolled, as with tacos.
The burrito also tends to have a mix of ingredients, such as rice, beans, and cheese or rice, meat, and vegetables. The tortillas used to wrap burritos are significantly larger than those used to package tacos, being closer to the size of a face, rather than the palm of someone's hand. Corn tortillas are rarely used for burritos, because they can crack and split when made so large, and burritos are sometimes made with flavored tortillas, like spinach or tomato tortillas.
The most basic difference between these two Mexican food items is that burritos as a rule are much larger than tacos with single burritos comprising a whole meal. In the case of tacos you would have to consume several of them to be able to feel like you have had a meal.
Tacos are an ancient food item and have been around for centuries. The traditional variety of tacos is made with warm corn tortillas wrapped around a single filling and often garnished with salsa, sour cream or other sauces. For filling one would use carne asada or pulled pork. The burrito on the other hand is a relatively recent arrival. There is an interesting story behind the development of the burrito. There was an enterprising merchant who desired to sell plates of rice and beans without actually having to provide plates. He came up with the ingenious idea of wrapping ingredients in an over sized wrapper made from a wheat tortilla, which then stood in for the plate! In keeping with the size burrito fillings consist of a variety of things. Rice, beans and cheese or rice, meat and vegetables are preferred choices.
Unlike in the case of tacos, corn tortillas are very rarely used in the case of burrito because they tend to crack and split due to the large size required for making one. Burrito would rather be made with flavored tortillas like spinach and tomato ones.
Typically a taco will have a soft flour or corn tortilla with some kind of meat. It may also have onion and cilantro on top. A burrito on the other hand will always be in a large flour tortilla with a lot more ingredients in it and will be rolled up in keeping with its origin of a substitute for a plate.
Thus we see two wonderful examples of Mexican food. One a traditional dish handed down for centuries and the other a twentieth century innovation born out the dictates of a clever marketer’s deft packaging. What is amazing is how these cuisines have evolved and are toady available in many local variations- for example in North America they have suitably Americanized the two cuisines by the simple expedient of using a lot more cheese!
Summary:
1.Burritos are much larger than tacos with single burritos comprising a whole meal. In the case of tacos you would have to consume several of them to be able to feel like you have had a meal.
2.Tacos are an ancient food item and have been around for centuries.
3.The burrito on the other hand is a relatively recent arrival.
4.Tacos are made with warm corn tortillas wrapped around a single filling and often garnished with salsa, sour cream or other sauces. For filling one uses carne asada or pulled pork. Burritos involves wrapping ingredients in an over sized wrapper made from a wheat tortilla, which stands in for the plate. Rice, beans and cheese or rice, meat and vegetables are preferred choices of filling.
