Until the 1960s, the cold torta was the only kind of torta in Mexico. Cold tortas are simple; all about showing off the ingredients—ham, cheese, mortadella, or even salt cod—rather than boasting about just how many they have. In his Gran Libro de Tortas, Roberto Arturo Ayala T. (not a big believer in the hot torta) says “really, all tortas should be cold, made from that day’s bread.” The basic torta is made on a telera roll: a soft white roll, usually seven to nine inches long, recognizable for its three humps. The roll is split open, with the much of the bread pulled from the inside of the top, allowing more room for the filling to take over as the prominent flavor. Refried beans are spread inside the top, while the chosen filling is stacked with lettuce, tomato, and pickled jalapeños. Tellez mentions that those pickled jalapeños, present on most tortas in Mexico, are one of the foods she most misses from Mexico, and wishes she could find in New York (where she has yet to find a torta up to her standards.)
