Steve Pope wrote:
> Serene Sprat > wrote:
>
>> Steve Pope wrote:
>>> Serene Sprat > wrote:
>
>>>> My Mexican relatives fry their tacos as often as leaving
>>>> them soft. It's just like anyplace else -- other people's idea of
>>>> "traditional" has little to do with the reality of what people in
>>>> that region actually eat.
>
>>> Just to touch on an obvious point, there's a big different between
>>> frying a taco, and staring out with some sort of
>>> preformed hard taco shell. So far as I know sure the latter is
>>> not typical of any Mexican tradition, but is often what
>>> Americans think of given the phrase "hard taco".
>
>> And it's common in the Mexican side of my family. I feel really
>> dismissive of talk about what is "traditional" as though there were
>> only one traditional way of doing something.
>
> This is why I avoid saying "X isn't traditional" in favor of "I
> haven't encountered X as a tradition".

You aren't the one who said "traditional Mexican tacos are soft"
anyway, Steve. I'm not pointing fingers at you, just explaining my
thought processes.

>
> So, to clarify, your relatives will fry a tortilla into a u-shaped
> before filling it with taco ingredients? (As opposed to
> frying it flat?)

Yes, if you think of a much-flatter than normal U. Maybe more like a
V. The flat ones are for tostadas. :-)

Serene