Frequently Asked Questions

Most of the time Flautas, which mean "flutes," usually refer to a flour tortilla that is rolled up around a filling and deep fried. A Taquito is a corn tortilla rolled in a similar fashion with a filling of beef, chicken or cheese and fried until crisp.

In order to get a tender slice of meat, you will need to cut perpindicular to the grain of the meat. Sometimes the grain is not straight across the whole piece of meat and can change direction several times.

How to do it? Look carefully at the top of the meat. You should be able to see some of the grain (almost like very tiny stripes) running across it. Using a very sharp knife, slice the meat perpindicular, or at a 90 degree angle to the grain. So it would be like slicing the stripes in half, rather than slicing with the stripes.

Mexican food has a widely diverse history that started with the natives. Then the Spaniards introduced new spices and foods and finally there are the Americanized versions of Mexican dishes. When a dish or recipe is referred to as "native" then it should only contain ingredients that were available to the native Mexicans. This includes corn, tomatoes, goat and fish. Calling a dish or recipe "authentic" usually means it is something that has been prepared traditionally in Mexico usually for 50 years or more. Claiming something has "authentic" tastes or flavors, just means that the spices used in flavoring the dish are authentic to Mexico.

Microwave: Put a tortilla on a plate, covered with a damp paper towel. Alternate tortillas with paper towels.
Microwave: for 30 seconds to one minute, depending on how many tortillas. Oven Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Wrap a stack of tortillas in a damp dishtowel and place in a casserole dish of similar size. Cover with a lid or a piece of aluminum foil tightly on the dish. Place in oven for 20 minutes.

There are several ways of testing the varying heat levels for each chile. The most commonly used one is a scale called the "Scoville Heat Rating." In the test, people taste a chile and rate it accordingly. The test results provide a guide to the spiciness of certain chiles. It is important to remember that weather and soil conditions can have an effect on the spiciness of chiles. Also, each taster has a different level of what they consider hot.

Please don't let that stop you from trying a recipe. There are many resources that can help you translate Spanish words into English.

Check the glossary or the terms at a glance for a description of what you're looking for. If you don't find it there, try this online translator service.

This is a common question and has fueled many arguments over the subject. There are many accepted versions. Chile with an "e" at the end is the correct spelling in Spanish. Chili with an "i" at the end is the Americanized version. The "i" version began with the name of the dish "Carne con Chili," meaning "Meat with Chile." It evolved into "Chili con Carne" and then shortened to just "Chili." The term ending with an "i" is widely accepted and is often used as the name for "Chili Powder." The term "Chile" with an "e" is the more correct way to spell it, although many forms are accepted. Some accepted spellings are

• Chile
• Chilli
• Chilly
• Chilie
• Chillie

There are many Mexican dishes that do not have to be spicy such as tacos, burritos and enchiladas. However, Mexicans use a lot of chiles in their dishes and that is where the spiciness comes from. Most people don't mind a little heat because it is worth the flavor you get from the chile. Some people just think hotter is better.