Where Did This Taco Come From?

Dates from: 7,000 B.C.

Region: North America 

That crispy taco shell may not taste like a vegetable, but it started out as one! Around 10,000 years ago, humans began to domesticate plants—that is, grow them for human use. Indigenous peoples in southern Mexico cultivated maize, or corn, from wild grass. In time, they ground the maize to form a dough, then cooked it on hot stones. The result? Thin, soft disks called tortillas.

Tortillas were a staple in ancient Mesoamerica—a historical region made up of what is now parts of Mexico and Central America. The Maya and Aztec peoples who lived there wrapped tortillas around beans. 

In the early 1900s, tortillas headed north. Many people traveled from Mexico to the U.S. in search of jobs and brought their favorite foods with them. One popular dish was tacos dorados. To make it, people filled soft tortillas with meat or beans, rolled them up, and then fried them in hot oil until crispy. 

In the 1940s, the hard taco shell we recognize today got its start. Mexican American restaurant owners began frying tortillas in oil and folding them—before adding fillings. Crunch!

Dates from: 8,000 B.C. 

Region: The Middle East

People have eaten wild cattle since prehistoric times. One of the oldest cave paintings, made 40,000 years ago in what is now Indonesia, depicts a large cattle-like beast. 

Farmers first tamed cattle in Mesopotamia, a historical region mostly within present-day Iraq. They raised the animals to pull plows for farming, as well as to provide milk and meat.

When Spanish explorers arrived in Mexico in the early 1500s, they brought cattle with them. As the Spanish seized land and expanded their colonies, cattle spread throughout North America. At the time, the cattle were mainly raised for their hides and tallow, or fat, which was used for candles and soap.

Cattle farming took off in the U.S. in the 1800s, when the railroads spread west. Sprawling cattle ranches sprang up, and farmers started to focus on farming for meat production. Today the U.S. is home to more than 87 million cows. 

Dates from: 4,000 B.C. 

Region: Western Asia

Lettuce has wild roots—as a bitter-tasting plant. Historians think it was domesticated about 6,000 years ago in the Caucasus—an ancient region in what is now Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. 

Over the next few thousand years, lettuce was embraced by major civilizations. Ancient Egyptians used oil from its seeds in religious rituals, and ancient Greeks and Romans developed varieties of it for food and medicine. The Romans thought lettuce had calming effects and served it at the end of meals, before bed! 

During the Renaissance, which started in the 1300s, Europe’s upper classes mixed lettuce with herbs and oils to make salads. Italian explorer Christopher Columbus is sometimes credited with bringing lettuce to the Americas, in the late 1400s.

In 1894, Pennsylvania businessman W. Atlee Burpee developed iceberg lettuce, which stayed crisper longer. It is still popular today, on or off tacos. 

Dates from: 8,000 B.C

Region: The Middle East

People in West Asia, Africa, India, and Europe have been drinking cows’ milk for thousands of years. Cheese-making started long ago too—possibly by accident. Legend has it that an Arabian merchant stored milk in a pouch made from a sheep’s stomach while he crossed a desert. In the heat, a substance in the lining of the stomach caused the milk to separate. Some of the milk turned into a solid called curd—the start of cheese! 

By the time the Roman Empire was established around 27 B.C., hundreds of varieties of cheese were being made. Europeans continued to improve cheesemaking techniques during the Middle Ages. 

Historians credit English settlers for introducing cheese to North America. The Pilgrims brought it over on the Mayflower in 1620. Today the average American eats about 42 pounds of cheese a year.