Is There A 'Wrong' Type Of Tortilla For Quesadillas?

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Mexican food in the US is a tricky subject. There are many regional Mexican cuisines in the country itself, but once you get across the border, there is a whole slew of Mexican-inspired food to lump in as well. The quesadilla in particular is an interesting dish across cultures. It has deep roots in Mexican cuisine, but those roots don't look much like the microwaved flour tortilla packed with shredded cheddar that often carries the moniker in The States. To help sort out what a quesadilla actually is, and whether or not there's a right tortilla choice for making one, we sat down with Claudette Zepeda, chef and author of "Cooking the Borderlands".

"I grew up in a house that made do with what we had," Zepeda says, "and if we did not have corn tortillas or masa harina, but we had flour and didn't have the money to buy tortillas, we made flour tortillas." The question of when to use corn versus flour tortillas is much simpler to answer when only one is an option. When you are hankering to whip up one of your favorite quesadilla recipes, you just have to work with what's available, which happens to work just fine for quesadillas. "I wish I could rant on about how picky I am about my quesadillas," Zepeda says. "The reality is that I love them in any way that I can get them. The ones that make me especially emotional, however, are the deep-fried, fresh masa quesadillas."

Corn tortillas are a more traditional choice for your quesadilla. "The taste is more complex and nuanced with corn than flour because of the primary ingredient itself," Claudette Zepeda says. "Corn shows up to the party as a fully formed flavor profile." Depending on what's available at your local shop, there may be decent uncooked corn tortillas in the refrigerated section of the store. Otherwise, it's really not much work to whip up a batch of classic corn tortillas. "Warm fresh corn tortillas (my favorite is yellow corn) have the flavor of the corn itself," says Zepeda — and that's what you want in a proper quesadilla.

Flour tortillas aren't half bad either, though, and despite what you might think about their authenticity, there are regions of Mexico where flour tortillas are quite common. "Flour tortillas are a blank canvas," Zepeda says. "If you make it yourself, you can definitely amp up the flavors." She suggests mixing chiles, herbs, and other flavoring agents directly into the dough of your flour tortilla recipe. You can also bump the flavor with the filling, especially if you grabbed store-bought tortillas. With flour tortillas, "you really want to choose a flavorful cheese," Zepeda says, "though I have used everything from government Monterrey to Edam cheese."

There is no "right" tortilla for quesadillas. Like many things in the kitchen, it comes down to personal preference and making do with what you have. Just keep in mind these 14 tips for making the ultimate quesadillas.