October 4th is National Taco Day. So why do we need a second holiday, March 21st*, National Crunchy Taco Day? To celebrate hard tacos a.k.a. crunchy tacos. They may merit their own holiday because in Mexico, tacos were traditionally made with soft corn tortillas. While today you can find tacos with flour tortillas, and with hard shells, the original taco had a pliable casing.

(There are also National Fish Taco Day on January 25th and Día del Taco (in Mexico), on March 31st.)

So where did that crispy shell that many Americans associate with a taco come from?
 
 
THE BIRTH OF THE CRUNCHY TACO

No one can say for certain who first fried a soft tortilla and filled it. They appeared in Mexico sometime after the soft version. (Flautas are also a form of crispy tacos that are rolled instead of folded

The tacos with fried, crunchy shells are called tacos dorados, or golden tacos, because frying the soft taco turns the pale tortilla color into the familiar golden one.

The earliest American recipe for hard tacos was published in a California-Mexican cookbook in 1914. A corn tortilla was stuffed with ground beef, sealed, pan-fried, then [wait for it!] smothered it in chili gravy [source].

In the U.S. they are called hard shell tacos or crunchy tacos.

In terms of who popularized the hard shell in the U.S.: Point your finger at Gene Bell of Taco Bell.

When he launched what would become a major American food franchise on March 21, 1962, in San Bernardino, California†, he put crunchy tacos—fried tortilla shells, not soft tortillas—on the menu. (Note the date? It became National Crunchy Taco Day).

Bell was the first taco seller to fry his taco shells in advance (traditionally they were fried on demand).

With all due respect, not all hard-shell tacos taste like Taco Bell, Del Taco, or other chains. A quality Tex-Mex restaurant—whether fancy or a taco truck—will fry them fresh daily.
 
 
CRUNCHY TACOS VS. SOFT TACOS: THE DIFFERENCE

Crunchy tacos, also called hard-shell tacos, are corn tortillas fried into a U shape. Rigid, they are stuffed with meat or seafood, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese (and many add-ons, from guacamole to sour cream).

Some sources call them Anglo-Tacos and/or Cali-Mex cuisine. But you will, in fact, find them in Mexico.

While prefabricated taco shells have a bad reputation, when prepared freshly with care, the Tex-Mex crunchy taco is delicious.

Depending on your point of view, you love the crunch of fried taco shells and don’t care if you end up brushing crumbs and fillings from your clothing.

Or you may prefer a soft taco that wraps around the fillings like a blanket, holding them in when you take a bite.

Soft tacos are much neater—although less textured—eating. With hard tacos, we need a fork to pick up everything that falls out.

We like both versions; although when we really want to crunch away on fried corn tortillas, we order a plate of nachos.

If you’re pining for crunchy tacos, head to a Mexican restaurant that fries them from scratch. With all due respect, Old El Paso hard taco shells are pretty tasteless.

So, hats off to the tasty hard tacos out there: Crunch away!
 
 
> The History Of Tacos

> Breakfast Tacos

> DIY Taco Bar

> Ice Cream Tacos

> Taco Party Menu

[1] Hard tacos, or crunchy tacos, have a rigid shell that is deep-fried (photo © Sirena Gourmet Latin Seafood | San Diego [permanently closed]).

[2] Soft tacos may have grill marks from being quickly heated on a griddle—in fact, they’re more interesting that way (photo © Good Eggs).

[3] Gourmet crunchy tacos at ABC Cocina in New York City (photo © ABC Cocina).

*March 21st is also California Strawberry Day, National French Bread Day, National Healthy Fats Day, and National Vermouth Day. It’s the only date we’ve come across that hosts five food holidays.

[1] Mr. Carrots’ Mango-Passion Milk Chocolate Almonds (all photos © Omnom).

[2] Mr. Bunny’s friend from the farm, the sheep, delivers a salted-almond chocolate bar.

[3] Introduce the Easter bunny to a unicorn, who brings a caramel chocolate bar.

Instead of a chocolate bunny rabbit, how about something crunchier? Mr. Carrots’ Mango-Passion Milk Chocolate Almonds are an Easter-themed confection from one of our favorite chocolatiers, Omnom. Think of them as little Easter eggs (photo #1).

The tropical flavors of mango and passion fruit shout “springtime,” too.

You or your giftee can nibble on these milk chocolate-covered almonds for Easter and beyond.

You can also use the bright yellow nuggets to garnish a cupcake or ice cream.

The acidity of the passion fruit and the fruitiness of the mango accent the velvety texture of the milk chocolate and the salty toasted almond. DEE-licious!

> Get your Mango-Passion and Milk Chocolate Almonds here.
 
 
CHOCOLATE BARS FOR EASTER

The Easter-themed sheep (well, he’s the father of the Easter lamb) covers a milk chocolate bar with almonds (photo #2).

His friend, the unicorn (photo #3), is welcome at any holiday celebration. For Omnom, he delivers a milk chocolate bar with caramel bits. Both bars are among Omnom’s best sellers.

Omnom is a Nibble Top Pick Of The Week, and everything we’ve tried has been rave-worthy.

There are nine flavored chocolate bars, four single-origin bars, three flavors of malt balls (“crunch balls”), and other delights.

> Check out all the Omnom confections.
 
 
ABOUT OMNOM CHOCOLATE

Omnom may just be the most delicious artisan food in Reykjavik, Iceland. The bean-to-bar artisan line is so wonderful that we put Reykjavik on our destination list.

Each bar has a beautifully designed wrapper that embraces an animal from Scandinavian folklore. The designs are so enchanting that we haven’t thrown out the empty wrappers. We’ll re-purpose them for something nice.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE

> EASTER EGG HISTORY

Does the spring salad recipe in photo #1 look complicated? It couldn’t be easier. So start your celebration of spring with a lively spring salad. Photo #1 is a simple mixture of:

 
You can top the salad with your protein of choice to make it a main course. Photo #3 features a poached egg—plus lots of Périgord black truffles* (for those with deep pockets).

> The history of salad.
 
 
WHAT MAKES IT A “SPRING SALAD?”

What makes a salad a “spring” salad?

It’s tender, has a splash of color beyond green, and uses ingredients that come into season in spring, delivering something beyond wwinter’s mix of celery, cucumbers, carrots, iceberg and romaine lettuces, mushrooms, onions, and Red Globe radishes. These include:

 
..and much more. (Other harbingers of spring such as morel mushrooms and nettles must be cooked.)

> Check out this list of spring vegetables and fruits.

In the “olden days” prior to the 1970s or thereabouts, produce was seasonal. Green peas were the products of spring, as were asparagus, green beans, and other items on the spring produce list.

Now, in-demand produce is available year-round, whether greenhouse-grown or imported from the Southern Hemisphere, where the seasons are opposite ours (carbon miles be damned).
 
 
WHAT’S A SPRING MIX SALAD

You may have noticed in the packaged salad section of your produce department a blend called “spring mix.”

In general, a spring mix usually contains tender baby lettuces and baby spinach. It may also include red and green romaine, red and green oak leaf lettuce, other heirloom lettuces, chard, arugula, endive, and radicchio.

Spring mix is normally harvested at a very young age, while the greens are still small and tender [source].
 
 
MORE SPRING SALAD INGREDIENTS

Don’t hesitate to try something new. If you’re a fan of spring peas, you’ll be delighted by the taste of pea shoots (photo #4), pea greens, and pea blossoms.

The best place to find exciting ingredients is a farmers market, followed by a specialty produce store.

 
 
10 MORE SPRING SALAD RECIPES

________________

*There are only winter and summer truffles. Here’s more about them.

[1] Spring salad #1: pea shoots, mint, snow peas and more (photo © California Olive Ranch).

[2] Pea shoots, a fleeting gift from Mother Nature (photo © Sid Wainer & Sons).

[3] Spring salad #2: Romanesco broccoli, zucchini, pea shoots, baby greens, poached egg and garnish of Perigord truffles* (photo © D & D Restaurants | London).

[4] For breakfast or lunch, spring salad #3, with watermelon radishes and burrata. That’s a drizzle of EVOO on the burrata. You can substitute a poached egg. Here’s the recipe (photo © Good Eggs).

[5] The bright striped circles are chioggia beets (photo © Fosters Market Cookbook).

[6] Dandelion greens are a spring treat. There’s more about them in the footnote‡ (photo © Good Eggs).

[7] Mustard greens are members of the cancer-fighting Brassica genus (photos #7 and #8 © Good Eggs).

[8] You may be lucky and come across red mustard greens. They’ll add color to your salad.

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] A fancy breakfast, brunch or lunch: a Crepini crêpe filled with asparagus, pancetta and scrambled eggs (all photos © Crepini).

[2] Tex-Mex favorites are easy to recreate, from tacos and tostadas to these enchiladas.

[3] Cut the crêpes into “pasta” for your favorite dishes).

[4] We love having lasagna more often with these lasagna roll-ups.

[5] You can bake or fry the crêpes into “tortilla chips.”

[6] What’s for dessert? Bake the crêpes into cup shapes and add pudding or sweetened ricotta or yogurt with fruit.

[7] Roll up a sweet (or sweetened) filling for dessert.

[8] Crepini comes in 6″ Petite and 10″ Grande sizes.

Crepini egg wraps are one of those foods you’ll want to know about if you seek a versatile, delicious food item that lets you maintain a special diet, whether your food plan is low-calorie, carb-conscious, gluten-free, or other parameter. It substitutes for bread, pasta, pastry, and other white flour foods.

Whether you want a low-cal, low-carb substitute for a sandwich, lasagna, or galette, need a keto or paleo alternative for your favorite foods, or just want to have fun with better-for-you options, Crepini opens up a world of culinary adventures.

And of course, you can use them as crêpes with a savory or sweet filling of choice.

They’re a great find, and they’re our Top Pick Of The Week.

Just check out these features:

Made with whole eggs and extra egg whites from cage-free eggs, Crepini are:

 
Whatever your special diet, Crepini will let you create delicious recipes for every meal of the day. But Crepini are for everyone: You don’t have to be on any particular diet to enjoy them.
 
 
VARIETIES OF CREPINI

 
Calories per wrap are 8 for the 6″ Petite size and 30 for the 10″ Grande size. Protein per wrap is 1g for petite and 3g for grande.
 
 
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH CREPINI?

Crepini can be used straight from the fridge, e.g. for a wrap sandwich, or air-fried, baked, microwaved, pan-fried, or sautéed. They are very versatile.

Here’s what we cooked up. Your own tastes and creativity will lead you to many more discoveries with Crepini.

Check out the recipes on the website.

Crepini At Breakfast

 
Crepini At Lunch

 
Crepini At Dinner

 
Crepini For Dessert

For low-calorie desserts, flavor ricotta or plain yogurt with non-caloric sweetener. Or, as with all recipes, use Crepini instead of cake or pastry, as in this Yule log!

 
Crepini For Appetizers & Snacks

 
 
THE CREPINI STORY

As children, Paula and Eric immigrated from Ukraine and Moldova to the U.S. with their parents, first moving to Paris where they had relatives.

There they discovered French crêpes—relatives of Eastern European blini.

The family moved to New York, the kids grew up and headed to corporate America. They then launched a tech company that grew to serve Fortune 500 companies.

And they still ate crêpes and blinis.

Experimenting with recipes, they developed Egg Thins, a zero net carb, low-calorie wrap.

In 2007, they founded Crepini. Their first product, the Naked Crêpe, received great reviews from buyers and editors, along with four specialty food awards.

They continued to innovate, and had a eureka moment with their Egg Wraps—a better-for-you version of a traditional crêpe.

Renamed Crepini, the crêpes dovetailed with food trends for gluten-free, keto-friendly foods, while supporting consumers’ ongoing desire for low-calorie, zero net carbs foods.

We thank them!

Following the popularity of the gingerbread house, there’s the Easter Bunny Hutch. Create an Easter centerpiece every bunny will love with this Ready-to-Build Chocolate Cookie Bunny Hutch Kit from Wilton.

The kit has everything you need:

 
Create it for your home, as a gift, or as a fun family project that’s edible when you’re finished.
 
 
> GET YOUR EASTER BUNNY HUTCH COOKIE KIT AT WILTON.COM.
 
 
MORE FUN EASTER RECIPES

 
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF COOKIES
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COOKIES

[1] See the bunny’s but? He’s squiggling through the rabbit hole at the front of the hutch (photos #1 and #2 © Wilton).

[2] Build it yourself or send it as a gift.

[3] Hide a surprise: If you’re building the hutch yourself, hide jelly beans, Peeps, or other Easter candy to be found when the house is eaten (photo © Patrick Fore | Unsplash).

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.