In the preparation of tacos, a type of Latin-American dish in some ways related to a sandwich, it is necessary to bend a tortilla about its diameter to a generally U-shaped configuration, and to fry this tortilla in this configuration so that it becomes a crisp and edible shell. It is possible to fry a tortilla in this general shape using a common type pan, such as the skillet, and using a hand-manipulated instrument such as a fork. This general type of procedure is somewhat disadvantageous for several reasons. One of these is that it is comparatively difficult to adequately hold a tortilla to its desired final shape during the frying operation. Another disadvantage of this essentially manual procedure is that an individual carrying out the process of frying the tortilla is apt to become burned with splattering grease or the like. It is also comparatively difficult to remove the cooked taco shell from a pan once the frying operation has been completed.
In order to simplify the frying of tortillas for tacos a number of different types of tortilla holders have been heretofore developed. These devices tend to be undesirable because of a number of different factors. Frequently these devices are comparatively complex and, hence, are comparatively expensive when sold. Also, frequently these tortilla holders are mechanically somewhat complex to operate. The average individual preparing tacos desires to use a tortilla holder which is as simple to operate as possible. Further, many of the prior tortilla holders are disadvantageous because of problems pertaining to the manner in which a tortilla is held in place with them, and pertaining to the manner in which a tortilla is removed from them while the tortilla itself is exceedingly hot immediately following the frying operation.
Another disadvantage of the prior tortilla cooking and forming devices is that they generally require frying in a deep-sided pan. While deep-fat frying is entirely practical in commercial establishments where the volume warrants the use of deep-fat frying apparatus, quite often it is desirable to prepare the tortillas into taco shells in a much smaller scale, such as in the home.