I get the whole “cube rule” thing, but a taco is FOLDED and a hot dog bun is CUT.
Mechanically these are very different required preparation steps.
Further, tacos use fried tortillas which are technically cake.
Hot dogs are not tacos. If you fry a cake, fold it, abc add toppings then that is a taco. When you cut into a bun and add toppings, that’s a sub. Hot dogs are subs, not tacos.
The word tortilla is derived from the Spanish word torta, meaning roughly ‘cake’ or ‘pie’, plus the diminutive suffix -illa; therefore tortilla can be translated as ‘little cake’.
What’s wild is that tortillas are so varied, Mexicans eat very thin yellow corn, Central Americans like white corn and make them thick, and South Americans just go full anarchy and make em extra fat and call them arepas.
Im partial to the Central American think ones, and if you fill em with cheese and meat you got pupusas
While I appreciate the topological approach, I hold to a linguistic and practical reason for a hot dog, as it is usually eaten, not (typically) being a sandwich:
what does it mean for a thing to be “sandwiched”? It means pressed on two sides, held together by the force of that pressure.
what is the difference between a hot dog and a hero/po-boy/sub? Well, heros and po-boys are held together by the bread. You can turn them on their side, and they should not fall apart, because the primary force holding them together is pressure on either side of the bread. Hot dogs, at least in my limited experience, are defined by their toppings, which are placed atop the frankfurter, and held in place by gravity alone.
As such I give my typology: if the primary force holding your dish together is pressure on two sides from a retaining material? Sandwich. If the primary force holding it together is gravity? That bread is being used as a trencher. As such, most hot dogs, most tacos, bread bowls and other such things are all basically just a version of a bread bowl or bread plate. For this reason, I call them “Trenchers”. Pizza is not primarily held together by gravity or by sandwiching forces, and thus is normally neither of these. Pizza’s primary force maintaining its integrity is the cheese and other sticky things holding onto any toppings. As such, pizza would be equivalent to toast with spread, cheese, and other toppings, similar to garlic bread. All functionally just “adorned breads”.
So, to reiterate, I don’t disagree that hot dogs can be sandwiches, but in general practice, I do not believe they qualify, much like most tacos do not qualify.
An interesting thesis! Please elaborate, and then let’s discuss where the lines are between casseroles, quiches, open pies, pastry-covered pies, calzones/empanadas/gyoza and wraps/burritos
casseroles are jumbles held together with a binder (like egg, or cheese). some have pie crusts (on the bottom and/or top, example chicken pot pie). they are often one dish meals (the pizza pan) and often identified by their baking utensil (the pizza pan).
Fair. I personally think that a pizza doesnt quite qulify, but i see the logic. By this logic, however, all pies are also casseroles. I’m OK with this. However, where does an open-faced bagel with shmear fit? Or a calzone?
i’m not a casserole expert but i think you need both filling and binder. Like a cheese egg quiche would not be a casserole but a cheese egg broccoli quiche would because cheese and eggs are both binders. So like with a chocolate mousse, it’s something else unless there’s chocolate chunks or nuts in that mousse. An open-faced bagel with shmear, is it one of those shmears that includes solids or is it just a smooth even shmear?
i didn’t grow up in a house of pedants no how could you tell
I get the whole “cube rule” thing, but a taco is FOLDED and a hot dog bun is CUT.
Mechanically these are very different required preparation steps.
Further, tacos use fried tortillas which are technically cake.
Hot dogs are not tacos. If you fry a cake, fold it, abc add toppings then that is a taco. When you cut into a bun and add toppings, that’s a sub. Hot dogs are subs, not tacos.
Gonna need an explanation on the tortillas. Wikipedia says flatbread.
Tortillas are pancakes
If flatbread then maybe tacos are pizza.
What’s wild is that tortillas are so varied, Mexicans eat very thin yellow corn, Central Americans like white corn and make them thick, and South Americans just go full anarchy and make em extra fat and call them arepas.
Im partial to the Central American think ones, and if you fill em with cheese and meat you got pupusas
Do not call my arepas fat tortillas. They are separate foodstuffs though composed of the same ingredients.
Flour tortillas are definitely flatbread.
Corn tortilla… I’m not sure. I really just don’t know, but I’d still consider a taco to be a sandwich.
Absurd claim
While I appreciate the topological approach, I hold to a linguistic and practical reason for a hot dog, as it is usually eaten, not (typically) being a sandwich:
As such I give my typology: if the primary force holding your dish together is pressure on two sides from a retaining material? Sandwich. If the primary force holding it together is gravity? That bread is being used as a trencher. As such, most hot dogs, most tacos, bread bowls and other such things are all basically just a version of a bread bowl or bread plate. For this reason, I call them “Trenchers”. Pizza is not primarily held together by gravity or by sandwiching forces, and thus is normally neither of these. Pizza’s primary force maintaining its integrity is the cheese and other sticky things holding onto any toppings. As such, pizza would be equivalent to toast with spread, cheese, and other toppings, similar to garlic bread. All functionally just “adorned breads”.
So, to reiterate, I don’t disagree that hot dogs can be sandwiches, but in general practice, I do not believe they qualify, much like most tacos do not qualify.
pizza is a casserole
An interesting thesis! Please elaborate, and then let’s discuss where the lines are between casseroles, quiches, open pies, pastry-covered pies, calzones/empanadas/gyoza and wraps/burritos
casseroles are jumbles held together with a binder (like egg, or cheese). some have pie crusts (on the bottom and/or top, example chicken pot pie). they are often one dish meals (the pizza pan) and often identified by their baking utensil (the pizza pan).
Fair. I personally think that a pizza doesnt quite qulify, but i see the logic. By this logic, however, all pies are also casseroles. I’m OK with this. However, where does an open-faced bagel with shmear fit? Or a calzone?
i’m not a casserole expert but i think you need both filling and binder. Like a cheese egg quiche would not be a casserole but a cheese egg broccoli quiche would because cheese and eggs are both binders. So like with a chocolate mousse, it’s something else unless there’s chocolate chunks or nuts in that mousse. An open-faced bagel with shmear, is it one of those shmears that includes solids or is it just a smooth even shmear?
i didn’t grow up in a house of pedants no how could you tell
so if I fold hotdog in a piece of sandwich bread; is that now a taco?
If it’s Subway bread, which is cake, then yes.
But subway bread is tubular, so doesn’t fold in a way that contains things
Could be unbaked Subway dough fashioned into a flatter
breadcake 🤷Fairy muff
I can’t argue with that and accept it, yes
Since when is cake fried?
Since the south got ahold of it:
Mmmm jizz filled!
Damn Australians!
Or is it Antarctica?
Which south?