MTI Blog | Ventless Revolution

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Let’s Celebrate with the History of the Quesadilla

Written by Danielle Fantasia | May 5, 2023 1:15:00 PM

Today is one of our FAVORITE holidays! Here, at Motion Technology, Inc. we love celebrating Cinco de Mayo with delicious Mexican food and this year is no different. From fresh tortilla chips and salsa to savory tacos and crunchy taquitos, we are never at a loss for great tasting food. This year, we decided that we wanted to kick off our festivities with one of our tastiest options, QUESDILLAS!

Before we head to the test kitchen and power up the MultiChef™, we thought this would be a great opportunity to quickly dive into the history of the quesadilla and how they are so much more than just a menu item at your favorite restaurant. ¿Estás listo?

First, let’s talk about the definition of a quesadilla. Merriam-Webster defines it as a tortilla filled with cheese and often a savory mixture (as of meat and vegetables), folded, and usually fried. Whether or not a quesadilla needs to include cheese has been a debate for ages. There are many who argue that traditional quesadillas never contained cheese to begin with, while others will maintain that cheese (queso) is literally in the name, therefor it hast o be an ingredient. Well, we just had to get to the bottom of this dispute, so we tracked down one of the OLDEST Mexican cookbooks we could find in hopes of getting some real answers. La Cocinera Poblana y el Libro de Las Familias was published in the 1890s, and is full of authentic Mexican recipes, including quesadillas. The book states that The quesadillas are filled with different things such as aged or fresh cheese, brains, finely chopped zucchini flowers, shredded chorizons, chili slices, etc. A very tasty bite at lunchtime (English Translation).

Now, if you ask us, it sounds like people have been putting cheese in quesadillas for over 120 years, and honestly we think that’s long enough to be considered a traditional filling. In fact, we have even decided that ALL we want this year for Cinco de Mayo are traditional CHEESE quesadillas from the MultiChef. They take less than a minute and always come out perfect. Not to mention, it is impossible not to be impressed by the cheese pull!

To learn more about how your business can serve up flawless quesadillas click below.