The flour tortilla’s deep roots in South Texas culture

Few things are more comforting in South Texas than a warm and fresh flour tortilla. It’s a staple on dinner tables, at taquerias and in lunchboxes.

Beyond its delicious simplicity lies a rich history that stretches back hundreds of years.

Dr. Ellen Riojas-Clark, professor emerita of bicultural-bilingual studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said the flour tortilla’s origins can be traced to the blending of cultures that began when the Spanish arrived in the Americas.

“When the Spaniards came into the Americas, they brought wheat,” Riojas-Clark said. “Some people say there’s Jewish and Moorish influence because Jewish people couldn’t eat corn. With the arrival of many different cultural groups into the Americas — ta-da — the flour tortilla was born.”

The flour tortilla has