How to Fold a Burrito

I thought I knew how to roll a burrito, I mean, how hard is it?  It's about as intuitive as learning to crawl - it just happens. It's not that hard. The force of 1000's of years of evolution is working in your favor - secretly urging you from a deep hidden place in your psyche, moving you to make the right motions.

Yet, every burrito I had ever rolled, however delicious, invariably ended with tortilla mutiny.

Then I worked in the kitchen for the Holy Cow Cafe, where pre-packaged, travel-stable burritos are a major portion of their business.  It was there in the industrial kitchen add-on to their eccentric home where I learned the secret of a well-built burrito. Rectangle in the center, and the little tuck.

Someday, I'll add a finer picture tutorial, but in short, here's how to fold a decently destruction-resistant burrito:

1. Place all the burrito fixings in a rectangle in the middle of the burrito, getting close to the edges along the short side of the rectangle, and leaving ~1/3 of the tortilla on each side of the long edge of the rectangle.  If you have small, flat ingredients like (sour cream, cheese, smashed avocado), those can extend farther - but all the big bulky stuff should be piled up in the middle.

Align your plate so that the short sides are left and right.

2. Fold in the short sides ("right and left")

3. Take the 'bottom' flap and take it to the top - fold it over over the mound of goodness.  Once you reach the edge of the ingredients, tuck the edge of the tortilla underneath a little, like you're wrapping a bambina into swaddling clothes. (Maybe, I don't really know what that's like. Nor do I ever want to know).

<--  Tuck it in!









4. Continue rolling in the same direction, essentially flipping over whole ordeal.  Now the "top" flap is resting underneath the rest of the folds.

For best results, eat it!