Wrap, Burrito or Egg Roll?

The Late Night Gourmet

The Late Night Gourmet

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This question came up on this month's What Did You Cook Today thread: what's the difference between a wrap and a burrito? Both have a thin, bread-based exterior, and both can have a variety of fillings. To me, they differ as follows:

Burrito

Has the interior contents folded over and symmetrically wrapped. Here's an example:

1200px-Burrito_and_Coke.jpg


Wrap

Has one end open where you can see the fillings. Here's an example:

Fedf-beefburritos0303%2Fedf-beefburritos0303_horiz.jpg


But, the funny thing is that it's almost impossible to find a picture of what I call a burrito: people keep wanting to cut them in half so you can see the interior, which I understand. But, it doesn't help with the definition. And, the post above where I extracted the "wrap" picture was part of a burrito recipe. :laugh:

I threw egg rolls into the discussion, too, because they really do seem to be basically deep fried burritos (chimichangas??) But, there doesn't seem to be any other distinction other than the usual contents (which, by the way, almost never include egg).

And, don't get me started on burrito vs enchilada vs tamale. :laugh:
 
The Late Night Gourmet said:
This question came up on this month's What Did You Cook Today thread: what's the difference between a wrap and a burrito? Both have a thin, bread-based exterior, and both can have a variety of fillings. To me, they differ as follows:

Burrito

Has the interior contents folded over and symmetrically wrapped. Here's an example:

View attachment 82739

Wrap

Has one end open where you can see the fillings. Here's an example:

View attachment 82740

But, the funny thing is that it's almost impossible to find a picture of what I call a burrito: people keep wanting to cut them in half so you can see the interior, which I understand. But, it doesn't help with the definition. And, the post above where I extracted the "wrap" picture was part of a burrito recipe. :laugh:

I threw egg rolls into the discussion, too, because they really do seem to be basically deep fried burritos (chimichangas??) But, there doesn't seem to be any other distinction other than the usual contents (which, by the way, almost never include egg).

And, don't get me started on burrito vs enchilada vs tamale. :laugh:
Click to expand...

Burrito vs enchilada vs tamale is pretty easy to discern. But, you forgot the taquito -- kind of a deep fried enchilada without sauce?

I tend to think of a wrap as kind of a fu-fu thing. They seem to always be full of something healthy. :laugh:

CD
 
caseydog said:
Burrito vs enchilada vs tamale is pretty easy to discern. But, you forgot the taquito -- kind of a deep fried enchilada without sauce?

I tend to think of a wrap as kind of a fu-fu thing. They seem to always be full of something healthy. :laugh:

CD
Click to expand...

Maybe it is just marketing, then:
  • Fried chicken surrounded by a tortilla = fried chicken burrito
  • Crispy chicken nestled in a thin wrapper = crispy chicken wrap
 
Found this on a Mexican website:
82748

And this is how I think a burrito should be. I had one deep-fried in the Mercado Roma in CDMX, stuffed with spiced swordfish. Delish, but a monstrous piece of food!
I have a feeling the burrito is more North Mexico/Border country/ Tex - Mex, because they didn´t exist on the menus of the popular cantinas and bars in Mexico City.
A WRAP - I´ve always associated pita bread, or Middle Eastern flatbread with wraps, and thus, filled with shawarma or grilled meat.
Egg roll/spring roll: a Chinese/US concoction filled with veg and a bit of ham/pork/sausage. If you have a look at some more authentic SE Asian rolls, you´ll find some glorious stuff with mung bean and/or rice bases. They tend to be transparent and often served cold.
 
karadekoolaid said:
Found this on a Mexican website:
View attachment 82748
And this is how I think a burrito should be. I had one deep-fried in the Mercado Roma in CDMX, stuffed with spiced swordfish. Delish, but a monstrous piece of food!
I have a feeling the burrito is more North Mexico/Border country/ Tex - Mex, because they didn´t exist on the menus of the popular cantinas and bars in Mexico City.
A WRAP - I´ve always associated pita bread, or Middle Eastern flatbread with wraps, and thus, filled with shawarma or grilled meat.
Egg roll/spring roll: a Chinese/US concoction filled with veg and a bit of ham/pork/sausage. If you have a look at some more authentic SE Asian rolls, you´ll find some glorious stuff with mung bean and/or rice bases. They tend to be transparent and often served cold.
Click to expand...

Burritos were invented in Mexico, IIRC, but popularized in California. They really became a thing in the SanFran bay area, maybe in the 60s or 70s??? I think of them as being as much American as Mexican, because of how popular they are in the USA.

A deep fried burrito is generally called a chimichanga. But, it is not uncommon for a burrito to be "grilled" on a plancha (or flat-top in the USA). That puts a little crispiness on the tortilla, without the grease of deep frying. You can do the same thing at home with a cast iron pan or griddle.

Here is a quick "how to" on rolling a burrito.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5Sm_umARa0


CD
 
karadekoolaid said:
Yep - just looked it up and it says "burritos" were invented in Chihuaha, Northern Mexico, in 1910!!
Click to expand...

Most of my Mexican immigrant friends are from Chihuaha. If you eat at a restaurant in Dallas, the food was quite probably cooked by someone from Chihuaha, no matter what the style of food.

If the Governot of Texas had his wish (well, what he says in public), and every illegal immigrant in Texas were deported, most restaurants in Texas would be out of business. :laugh:

CD
 
...and what about quesadillas? they're not wrapped, but inside there's the same filling?
 
Cthulhu said:
...and what about quesadillas? they're not wrapped, but inside there's the same filling?
Click to expand...

Ah, the quesadilla, what we Texans eat when we want to make something good to eat in five minutes. :laugh:

The only requirement for a quesadilla is a flour tortilla and some cheese. Thus the name, quesadilla. You can add whatever you want to that, and make it as complex as your imagination.

So, not the same thing. Think of tortillas like you think of pasta in Italy. A lot of pasta dishes use the same ingredients, but they are not the same dish. The big difference being the form/shape of the pasta.

In addition, there are corn tortillas and there are flour tortillas. There is a lot of crossover, but they are also used more for certain things than for others. A burrito is always made with a flour tortilla, from my experience. Enchiladas always use corn tortillas, again from my experience. Tacos can use either one.

CD
 
caseydog said:
Ah, the quesadilla, what we Texans eat when we want to make something good to eat in five minutes. :laugh:

The only requirement for a quesadilla is a flour tortilla and some cheese. Thus the name, quesadilla. You can add whatever you want to that, and make it as complex as your imagination.

So, not the same thing. Think of tortillas like you think of pasta in Italy. A lot of pasta dishes use the same ingredients, but they are not the same dish. The big difference being the form/shape of the pasta.

In addition, there are corn tortillas and there are flour tortillas. There is a lot of crossover, but they are also used more for certain things than for others. A burrito is always made with a flour tortilla, from my experience. Enchiladas always use corn tortillas, again from my experience. Tacos can use either one.

CD
Click to expand...
I've had my dinner right now (cordon bleu and baked potatoes), but this conversation is going to make me feeling hungry again 🤣
 
Cthulhu said:
I've had my dinner right now (cordon bleu and baked potatoes), but this conversation is going to make me feeling hungry again 🤣
Click to expand...

Quesadillas make excellent snacks. Seriously, a flour tortilla, some cheese, a pan, and five minutes. Since they are carbs and dairy, you can eat them late at night if you are too hungry to go to sleep.

CD
 
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