Torta
Encyclopedia
Torta is a Spanish
word with a huge array of culinary meanings depending from the area and period of history in question. It originated in different regional variants of flatbread
, of which the torta de gazpacho
and torta cenceña are still surviving in certain areas of central Spain
. Tortas are also mentioned in Leviticus
24:5-9, in the Spanish translation of the Bible
. Presently, however, the word "torta" is also applied to different kinds of bread
and pastry
products according to the region.
Historically the difference between torta and bread
was its round and flat shape, as well as the absence of yeast
in its preparation. The well-known word tortilla
, used mainly in Mexico
and Spain, means 'small torta'. In most regions a torta was traditionally considered an inferior form of bread, as the well known Spanish aphorism
expresses:
In various countries of South America
, and in some countries of Europe as well, the word 'torta' means different things. Nowadays the most common usage, however, is for cakes (from the German
torte or French
tarte) and less for bread products.
In many South American countries, as well as in Italy
, 'torta' means a sweet cake, such as a wedding or birthday cake.
Torta frita is a fried flatbread eaten in Uruguay
and Argentina
. Other uses of the word 'torta' include Huevo en torta, a small fried mixture of scrambled eggs
, not to be confused with Torta de huevo, a typical pastry from Sobrarbe
, Aragon
, Spain, and Torta del Casar
, a cheese made from sheep's milk in Extremadura
, Spain.
In Mexico
a torta is a kind of sandwich, served on an oblong 6-8 inch firm, crusty white sandwich
roll, called a bolillo
, telera or birote. "Telera" is soft, round bread; also commonly used is the bolillo, a torpedo-shaped French roll with a thick and crunchy crust. Tortas can be served hot, typically toasted in a press in the same manner as a cuban sandwich
or panini, or cold. Common ingredients may include, but are not limited to:
Some styles include:
Garnishes such as avocado
, sour cream, lettuce
, jalapeño
, tomato
, and cheese feature in various incarnations of the sandwich. The dish is popular throughout Mexico, and is also available anywhere with a large number of Mexican immigrants. This dish should not be confused with a Spanish egg torta, a popular omelette-like dish.
The television character El Chavo is frequently heard asking or begging for "tortas de jamón" (ham sandwiches).
, particularly among Northern and Tagalog
-speaking provinces and islands, 'torta' refers to a kind of omelette
made with eggs, ground meat and sometimes minced onion and potato.
In Visayas
and Mindanao
, 'torta' refers to a sponge cake made with flour, egg yolks, milk, and salt. It resembles a large cupcake
. Often served as dessert with butter, sugar, and/or cheese on top. It is sometimes referred to as 'torta mamon', 'mamon', or 'puto mamon
' to distinguish it from the Tagalog
definition of 'torta'. See Puto
.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
word with a huge array of culinary meanings depending from the area and period of history in question. It originated in different regional variants of flatbread
Flatbread
A flatbread is a simple bread made with flour, water, and salt and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened: made without yeast or sourdough culture: although some flatbread is made with yeast, such as pita bread....
, of which the torta de gazpacho
Torta de Gazpacho
Torta de Gazpacho is a type of torta, or flat bread, used to prepare a dish called Gazpacho or Gazpachos in La Mancha and Southeast Spain, including Murcia and parts of the Valencian Community....
and torta cenceña are still surviving in certain areas of central Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Tortas are also mentioned in Leviticus
Leviticus
The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah ....
24:5-9, in the Spanish translation of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. Presently, however, the word "torta" is also applied to different kinds of bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
and pastry
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
products according to the region.
Historically the difference between torta and bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
was its round and flat shape, as well as the absence of yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
in its preparation. The well-known word tortilla
Tortilla
In Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize...
, used mainly in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Spain, means 'small torta'. In most regions a torta was traditionally considered an inferior form of bread, as the well known Spanish aphorism
Aphorism
An aphorism is an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and memorable form.The term was first used in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates...
expresses:
|
|
In various countries of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, and in some countries of Europe as well, the word 'torta' means different things. Nowadays the most common usage, however, is for cakes (from the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
torte or French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
tarte) and less for bread products.
In many South American countries, as well as in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, 'torta' means a sweet cake, such as a wedding or birthday cake.
Torta frita is a fried flatbread eaten in Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. Other uses of the word 'torta' include Huevo en torta, a small fried mixture of scrambled eggs
Scrambled eggs
Scrambled eggs is a dish made from beaten whites and yolks of eggs . Beaten eggs are put into a hot pot or pan and stirred frequently, forming curds as they coagulate.-Sample preparation:...
, not to be confused with Torta de huevo, a typical pastry from Sobrarbe
Sobrarbe
Sobrarbe is one of the Comarcas of Aragon, Spain. It is located in the northern part of the province of Huesca, part of the autonomous community of Aragon in Spain...
, Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
, Spain, and Torta del Casar
Torta del Casar
Torta del Casar is a cheese made from sheep's milk in the Extremadura region of Spain. It is named after Casar de Cáceres, its city of origin. The milk is curdled using a coagulant found in the pistils of the cardoon, a wild thistle. This ingredient lends a subtle bitterness to the otherwise...
, a cheese made from sheep's milk in Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...
, Spain.
Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
a torta is a kind of sandwich, served on an oblong 6-8 inch firm, crusty white sandwich
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
roll, called a bolillo
Bolillo
A bolillo is a type of savory bread traditionally made in Mexico, where it originates. It is a variation of the baguette, and is often baked in an horno de piedra....
, telera or birote. "Telera" is soft, round bread; also commonly used is the bolillo, a torpedo-shaped French roll with a thick and crunchy crust. Tortas can be served hot, typically toasted in a press in the same manner as a cuban sandwich
Cuban sandwich
A Cuban sandwich is a variation of a ham and cheese originally created in cafes catering to Cuban workers in Cuba and in the early Cuban immigrant communities of Florida: Key West and Ybor City, Tampa. Later on, Cuban exiles and expatriates brought it to Miami where it is also still very popular...
or panini, or cold. Common ingredients may include, but are not limited to:
- Al pastor: (marinated pork)
- Alambre: (steak, baconBaconBacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
, onionOnionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, pepperCapsicumCapsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
and cheese) - Carne asadaCarne asadaIn Mexican cuisine, "Carne asada" is an item that consists of thin beef steak. The meat can be marinated by rubbing with olive oil and salt or with spice rubs such as lemon and pepper or garlic salt, lime, or Worcestershire sauce, before being cooked on a grill. The meat can be served alone or...
: (marinateMarinationMarination is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origins of the word allude to the use of brine in the pickling process, which led to the technique of adding flavor by immersion in liquid...
d steakSteakA steak is a cut of meat . Most are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America, steaks are typically served grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole...
) - Carne deshebrada: (shredded beefBeefBeef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
) - CarnitasCarnitasCarnitas, literally "little meats", is a type of braised or roasted pork in Mexican cuisine.Pork carnitas is traditionally made using the heavily marbled, rich 'boston butt' or 'picnic ham' cuts of pork...
: (fried tender porkPorkPork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
) - Chile rellenoChile rellenoThe chile relleno, literally "stuffed chile," is a dish of Mexican cuisine that originated in the city of Puebla. It consists of a roasted fresh poblano pepper , sometimes substituted with non-traditional Hatch green chile, Anaheim, pasilla or even jalapeño chili pepper...
: (white cheese-stuffed AnaheimAnaheim pepperAn Anaheim pepper is a mild variety of chili pepper. The name "Anaheim" derives from a farmer named Emilio Ortega who brought the seeds to the Anaheim, California, area in the early 1900s. They are also called California chili or Magdalena, and dried as chile seco del norte...
or poblanoPoblanoThe poblano is a mild chili pepper originating in the State of Puebla, Mexico. Dried, it is called a chile ancho . The ripened red poblano is significantly hotter and more flavorful than the less ripe, green poblano. While poblanos tend to have a mild flavor, occasionally and unpredictably, they...
green pepperBell pepperBell pepper, also known as sweet pepper or a pepper and capsicum , is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum . Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange and green. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as...
fried in eggEgg (food)Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
batter) - Choriqueso: (ChorizoChorizoChorizo is a term encompassing several types of pork sausages originating from the Iberian Peninsula.In English, it is usually pronounced , , or , but sometimes ....
with cheese) - Cochinita pibilCochinita pibilCochinita pibil is a traditional Mexican slow-roasted pork dish from the Yucatán Península. Preparation of traditional cochinita or puerco pibil involves marinating the meat in strongly acidic citrus juice, coloring it with annatto seed, and roasting the meat while it is wrapped in banana...
: (pork loinLoinThe loins are the sides between the lower ribs and pelvis, and the lower part of the back. It is often used when describing the anatomy of humans and quadrupeds . The anatomical reference also carries over into the description of cuts of meat from some such animals, eg...
in orangeOrange (fruit)An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
sauceSauceIn cooking, a sauce is liquid, creaming or semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...
) - Camarón: shrimpShrimpShrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
- Huevo con salchicha: (sausage and scrambled egg)
- Huevo con Jamón: (Ham and scrambled egg)
- Huevo con tocino: (Bacon and scrambled egg)
- Huevo con Bolonia: (Bologna and scrambled egg)
- ChilorioChilorioChilorio is a pork dish from the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Chilorio is generally made from pork fried in chile sauce.In making chilorio, pork is slow-simmered for hours until it falls apart. It is then broken into bite size pieces, fried in lard, and cooked in a chile sauce made from re-hydrated...
: (pork fried in chile sauce) - Jamón: HamHamHam is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...
- LomoLomoLomo is the Spanish word for tenderloin. Pork tenderloin is known as lomo de cerdo, whereas beef tenderloin is just called lomo.A specific type of lomo is lomo embuchado, which is a dry-cured meat made from a pork tenderloin. It is similar to cecina, but with pork instead of beef. An Italian...
: Pork tenderloin - Lengua: beef tongue
- MilanesaMilanesaThe milanesa is a common meat dish mostly in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, as well as in other American countries to a lesser extent, where breaded meat fillet preparations are known as a milanesa The milanesa is a common meat...
: (breadBreadBread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
ed steak) - Pescado: fried fishFried fishFried fish refers to any fish that has been prepared by frying. Often, the fish is covered in batter, or flour, or herbs and spices before being fried.-Overview:Fish is fried in many parts of the world, and fried fish is an important food in many cuisines...
- Pechuga de pavo: turkey breast
- Pollo: chicken
Some styles include:
- Cubana: Inspired by the popular Cuban sandwichCuban sandwichA Cuban sandwich is a variation of a ham and cheese originally created in cafes catering to Cuban workers in Cuba and in the early Cuban immigrant communities of Florida: Key West and Ybor City, Tampa. Later on, Cuban exiles and expatriates brought it to Miami where it is also still very popular...
. Typically includes a wide variety of ingredients: ham, white cheese, scrambled eggs, sausage, milanesa and chipotleChipotleA chipotle , or chilpotle, which comes from the Nahuatl word chilpoktli meaning "smoked chili pepper" is a smoke-dried jalapeño that tends to be brown and shriveled. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Mexican-American and Tex-Mex.Varieties of jalapeño...
. - Torta ahogadaTorta ahogadaA torta ahogada is a typical dish from the Mexican state of Jalisco, particularly in the city of Guadalajara. Although it is popular in some other parts of Mexico, it is more popular in Jalisco than anywhere else. It is called "drowned" because the sandwich is submerged totally or partially in a...
: a sandwich filled with carnitas and submerged in sauce. Very popular in Guadalajara, JaliscoGuadalajara, JaliscoGuadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
.
Garnishes such as avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
, sour cream, lettuce
Lettuce
Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important...
, jalapeño
Jalapeño
The jalapeño is a medium-sized chili pepper that has a warm, burning sensation when eaten. A mature jalapeño fruit is 2–3½ inches long and is commonly picked and consumed while still green, but occasionally it is allowed to fully ripen and turn crimson red...
, tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
, and cheese feature in various incarnations of the sandwich. The dish is popular throughout Mexico, and is also available anywhere with a large number of Mexican immigrants. This dish should not be confused with a Spanish egg torta, a popular omelette-like dish.
The television character El Chavo is frequently heard asking or begging for "tortas de jamón" (ham sandwiches).
Philippines
In the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, particularly among Northern and Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
-speaking provinces and islands, 'torta' refers to a kind of omelette
Omelette
In cuisine, an omelette or omelet is a dish made from beaten eggs quickly cooked with butter or oil in a frying pan, sometimes folded around a filling such as cheese, vegetables, meat , or some combination of the above...
made with eggs, ground meat and sometimes minced onion and potato.
In Visayas
Visayas
The Visayas or Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast...
and Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
, 'torta' refers to a sponge cake made with flour, egg yolks, milk, and salt. It resembles a large cupcake
Cupcake
A cupcake is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper or aluminum cup...
. Often served as dessert with butter, sugar, and/or cheese on top. It is sometimes referred to as 'torta mamon', 'mamon', or 'puto mamon
Puto
Puto is Philippine steamed rice cake, eaten as is or with butter and/or grated fresh coconut or as accompaniment to a number of savory dishes for breakfast .-Preparation:...
' to distinguish it from the Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
definition of 'torta'. See Puto
Puto
Puto is Philippine steamed rice cake, eaten as is or with butter and/or grated fresh coconut or as accompaniment to a number of savory dishes for breakfast .-Preparation:...
.
See also
- TortillaTortillaIn Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize...
- MigasMigasMigas is the name used for a dish in Spanish and Portuguese cuisine and a significantly different dish in Tex-Mex cuisine.-Spanish migas:...
- Torta de GazpachoTorta de GazpachoTorta de Gazpacho is a type of torta, or flat bread, used to prepare a dish called Gazpacho or Gazpachos in La Mancha and Southeast Spain, including Murcia and parts of the Valencian Community....
- SopaipillaSopaipillaA sopaipilla, sopapilla, sopaipa, or cachanga is a kind of fried pastry and a type of quick bread served in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, northern Mexico, New Mexico, Peru, Texas, and Uruguay. The word sopaipilla is the diminutive of sopaipa, a word that entered Spanish from the Mozarabic language of...
- ArepaArepaAn arepa is a dish made of ground corn dough or cooked flour, popular in Colombia, Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. It is similar in shape to the Salvadoran pupusa...
- PupusaPupusaA pupusa is a traditional Salvadoran dish made of thick, hand-made corn tortilla that is usually filled with a blend of the following: cheese , cooked pork meat ground to a paste consistency...
- List of sandwiches