A tortilla is a thin, round flatbread that forms the foundation of Mexican cooking. Made from either corn or wheat flour, tortillas are cooked on a hot, flat surface called a griddle until they're soft and flexible, with small toasted spots on each side.

Corn tortillas, the older variety, have been made in Mexico for thousands of years. Making them requires soaking dried corn in limewater, grinding it into masa (a type of dough), and pressing it flat. Wheat flour tortillas came later, after Spanish colonists brought wheat to Mexico in the 1500s. They're slightly larger, softer, and more pliable than corn tortillas.

Tortillas work like edible plates or wrappers. Roll one around beans, meat, and cheese and you have a burrito. Fold it in half around filling for a taco. Layer them with sauce and cheese for enchiladas. Cut them into triangles, fry them, and you get tortilla chips.

In Spanish, tortilla means “little cake.” Interestingly, in Spain a tortilla is something completely different: a thick omelet made with eggs and potatoes. But in Mexican and American English, tortilla means the flatbread.