You Should Never Add Cheese To An Authentic Taco. Here's Why
Whether you enjoy making a run for the border, a run to your local taco truck, or a hop, skip, and a jump to your own kitchen for Taco Tuesday, there is one big takeaway: you probably love tacos. How could you not? Bring on the spicy and savory meat, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, a little guacamole, pico de gallo, and corn. Envelop it all with a warm, soft tortilla or crunchy, hard shell, and you are ready to break out into a chorus of "It's raining tacos." Tacos are a staple for most Americans. It's estimated that they consume more than 4.5 billion beautiful tacos every year, according to the South Florida Reporter.
However, if you are a taco purist and favor the authentic tacos our neighbors in Mexico enjoy, you are going to want to skip the shredded orange cheese because adding it to the Mexican version of this favored food – well, it is almost considered sacrilege when it comes to the theology of the taco. OK, maybe that's a little hyperbolic, but you understand. If you are going to enjoy a taco pastor, tacos de suadero, carnitas, campechano, barbacoa, fish, or whatever other authentic tacos your heart desires, you will want to forgo the cheddar or Colby cheese, and here's why.
Authentic Mexican tacos only use Mexican white cheeses
Per Business Insider, authentic Mexican tacos may have some chopped onions and a little avocado adorning whatever meat filling they hold, but they will not be garnished with the convenient prepackaged shredded cheese we buy in the United States. If there is cheese on an authentic Mexican taco, it is going to be a fresh white cheese, such as cotija, and only a dusting to enhance the other flavors your taco is holding. As Spoon University notes, if you see cheddar on your plate, you are having a taco of the American variety known as Tex-Mex. And don't get us wrong – Tex-Mex tacos can be quite tasty. We would never judge you for eating and enjoying them, but they aren't authentic Mexican tacos.
Why don't Mexican tacos use our beloved yellow cheese that we pile high on our tacos? Eat This, Not That suggests taking note of where cheddar cheese originated, which is in the village of Cheddar in Somerset, England. This is not very close to Mexico nor is its cheese very influential with respect to the taco. Instead, Mexican tacos use regional, local white cheeses that are both piquant and flavorful. Cheddar is simply not the equivalent of a Chihuahua, Queso Oaxaca, or Queso Blanco. So, the next time you want to experience a taco that is authentically Mexican, skip the yellow cheddar.