41 Amazing Burrito Facts You Sure Didn't Know About!

The burrito is a famous Mexican dish consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped around various fillings.

Burritos are a savory food and often consist of a meat filling. They are most commonly eaten by hand, like a wrap.

Burritos are traditionally Mexican dishes, consisting of a soft flour tortilla stuffed with a variety of fillings such as beef/chicken or fish, salsa, sour cream, cheese, guacamole, beans, and vegetables. Burritos originated in Northern Mexico and quickly became a staple in the region.

Burritos soon became very popular in other parts of Mexico and the United States, in many different variations. These variations include the burrito bowl, chimichangas, super burritos, wet burritos, and so on.

Origin And Invention Of Burrito

The Burrito is a traditional dish of Mexico city and can be traced back to the 1500s.

In the 1500s, the Maya Civilization of Mexico had its own version of the modern-day burrito. They used a corn tortilla to wrap their food. Instead of using meat, they had fillings of tomatoes, squash, peppers, and mushrooms.

The Pueblo peoples, who were Native Americans in Southwest US also had a dish that resembled the modern burrito. They used tortillas with refried beans and a meat sauce to prepare a wrap, much like the burrito.

In 1895, burritos were commonly considered to be the traditional food of Guanajuato, one of the various Mexican states. It was defined as a rolled tortilla with meat, cheese, refried beans, and other ingredients.

However, some people also believe that the burrito originated in the 19th century amongst the Vaqueros, the cowboys of Northern Mexic0. Burritos were commonly regarded as Northern Mexican food.

During the Mexican revolution in the 1900s, burritos were introduced to the Americans as a 'war food'. In order to keep their food warm, they wrapped it in soft tortillas in a cylindrical shape.

Another tale that speaks of the origin of this popular Mexican food is the story of Juan Mendez, a taco seller during the Mexican revolution. It is believed that Juan Mendez used to sell tacos in Mexico and used a Donkey for transport.

To keep food warm, it is believed that he used to wrap it in large tortillas. These large tacos slowly grew in popularity and soon came to be known as the burrito.

In the '40s, the origin of this popular facet of Mexican Cuisine was credited to a street food vendor in Ciudad Juarez. It is believed that he created the burritos to sell to poor children. The vendor would call these children his 'burritos', which translated to 'donkey'. The children eventually began to call this Mexican dish, burrito.

The word burrito translates to 'little donkey' in Spanish. The dish burrito came to be called so because the ability of the burrito to contain many different ingredients was considered similar to how a donkey is able to carry a heavy load.

Main Ingredients Of Burrito

Burritos traditionally consist of flour tortillas, wrapped around a meat filling, cheese, guacamole, refried beans, and other vegetables. However, this can vary depending upon the region.

Authentic Mexican burritos are made of flour tortillas and are small and thin. They consist of one to two ingredients. These ingredients can vary between meat or fish, rice, beans, potato, cheese, and chili peppers.

They can also contain guacamole, barbacoa (barbeque meat), refried beans, cheese, or deshebrada (slow-cooked shredded steak).

Deshebrada burritos can range from mildly hot to very hot.

Variations of the authentic Mexican burrito can consist of different types of salsa, avocados, eggs, lettuce, and so on. They can even contain sushi, french fries, and Asian ingredients like kimchi.

Nutritional Facts Of The Burrito

Burritos consist of flour tortillas, meat, and vegetables. Hence, it is a power-packed meal of carbohydrates, protein, dairy, vitamins, and minerals. Burritos can form a very healthy part of your diet if you select nutrient-dense fillings.

The average burrito consists of 605 cal of energy, 0.6 oz (17 gm) of protein, 2.5 oz (70.87 gm) of carbohydrates, 0.2 oz (5.66 gm) of fiber, 0.06 oz (1.70 gm) of cholesterol, and 0.9 oz (25.51 gm) of fat.

Burritos are also rich in vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin C, vitamin E, and folic acid (vitamin B9).

They also contain important minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and zinc.

A beef burrito with cheese contains 790 calories.

To make a healthy burrito, it is important to look for lean ingredients. Broiled, grilled, or poached chicken, a lean cut of beef, and shredded pork are healthy options for the filling.

Supermarket flour tortillas are often filled with trans fats and preservatives. Instead, make your own tortillas at home.

Beans are the healthiest part of burritos. They are high in fiber, protein, and potassium.

If you want to add rice to your burritos, use brown rice over white rice. Brown rice is high in fiber.

Monterey Jack is traditionally used as cheese in the traditional burrito. For a healthier option, use cotija cheese. Cotija has a strong taste, so you can use a smaller quantity.

Variations And Places Where Burrito Is Main Food

Burritos originated in northern Mexico, where they are a traditional dish and a staple. However, they are only commonly eaten in north Mexico, and not in the southern regions.

Burritos are a staple dish in Ciudad Juarez in the state of Chihuahua, north Mexico. The burritos found here are small, thin, made with flour tortillas, and served with sour cream.

In central Mexico and southern Mexico, burritos are referred to as 'tacos de harina', which translates to wheat flour tacos. This is because they are made of wheat flour tortillas.

In the Mexican state of Sonora, Burritos are referred to as Chivichangas. This variation of the burrito is long, thin, and fried.

Another variation of burritos in Sonora is the burro percheron. It is much larger than the traditional burrito and has a strong, distinct taste. It is made with charcoal-roasted meat, Mexican cheese, tomatoes, and avocados.

Burritos were introduced in the US in the '30s. The first restaurant to feature burritos in the US was the El Cholo Spanish Cafe, located in Los Angeles. Ever since then, California has been known for its famous Mission burrito.

California's famous Mission burrito originated in San Francisco in the '60s.

This burrito consists of a large flour tortilla, filled with beef, rice, whole beans, onion, and sour cream. It is produced on an assembly line and is wrapped in aluminum foil.

The Mission burrito is also referred to as the 'super burrito'. This is because it is the largest burrito type. Some of these burritos are so large, they can weigh up to 2.2 lbs (0.99 kg).

The largest burrito was made by Canirac La Paz in La Paz, Mexico, in November 2010. It was made with a single tortilla, fish, chili, refined beans, and onion. It weighed a whopping 12,785.57 lbs (5,799.44 kg).

50 restaurants and 3,000 volunteers participated in making this burrito. A special machine was made to prepare this burrito. It took over nine and a half hours to roll the 1.49 mi (2.4 km) tortilla.

San Diego burritos are referred to as California Burritos. California burritos are moderately sized and filled with beef/chicken and salsa. These burritos often contain french fries too.

San Diego is also known for its Carne Asada burrito. Carne Asada refers to a beef filling. This burrito is made with Carne Asada, guacamole, and pico de Gallo salsa.

Another burrito that originated in California is the Burrito Suizo. This is a wet burrito. It is made with a traditional tortilla, sour cream, beef/chicken, and other ingredients. It is then smothered with a red and green chili sauce.

Los Angeles is famous for its Kogi Burrito, which is an Asian burrito, reminiscent of Korean cuisine. It consists of sesame oil, lime juice, and chile-soy-vinaigrette in addition to traditional ingredients. It was created by Roy Choi, a famous American chef.

Sushi burritos are also found in Los Angeles. Sushi burritos are wrapped in a traditional tortilla and filled with spicy tuna or tempura, and cucumber. The most notable sushi burritos are found at the Jogasaki food truck in LA.

Other variations of the burrito include burrito bowls, breakfast burritos, chimichangas, and tacos.

Although the burrito bowl is called such, it is not burritos. This is because it lacks the basis of a burrito- a tortilla. Instead, traditional burrito ingredients are placed in a bowl with rice. It is then topped with guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo salsa, or all three.

The breakfast burrito is a variation of the traditional burrito that has become increasingly popular over the years. The breakfast burrito consists of the components of a traditional American breakfast, wrapped in a tortilla.

The main ingredients of a breakfast burrito are scrambled eggs, bacon, and vegetables like tomatoes and avocados. They are considered to be very healthy, and helpful if you want to lose weight.

Chimichangas are another variation of the traditional burrito. It is popular in Tex-Mex cuisine, which is a cross between American and Texan cooking. Chimichangas are deep-fried burritos, commonly consumed in Sinaloa and Sonora.

Tacos are also considered to be a variation of the traditional burrito. The main difference between tacos and burritos is that the former is served open, whereas the latter is served closed. Tacos are also smaller and made with cornflour.

Burritos always have a soft tortilla wrap. However, tacos can have both soft and hard tortilla shells.

In 1956, Duane R. Roberts, an entrepreneur from California, invented the frozen burrito. He created a bean and beef burrito and placed it in a blast freezer.

Frozen burritos quickly became very popular in the US. Restaurants loved the idea of a frozen burrito and it soon gained nationwide popularity.