February 24th is National Tortilla Chip Day. Just a few decades ago, Americans seldom ate chips and salsa. Rebecca Webb Carranza invented tortilla chips in the 1950s. Carranza and her husband owned the El Zarape Tortilla Factory in Los Angeles, and were among the first to automate the production of tortillas. The machine often produced misshapen tortillas, and Carranza decided to use them instead of throwing them away. She cut the rejected tortillas into triangles, fried them, and sold them for a dime a bag.
I was all grown up by the time I ate my first tortilla chip. It was most likely a Dorito, introduced nationwide in 1967. Doritos were invented at the Casa de Fritos, a Mexican-themed restaurant in Disneyland. Using surplus tortillas, the restaurant fried them and added some basic dry seasoning. The Vice President of Marketing of Frito-Lay (a smart guy) noticed their popularity. He made a deal with Alex Foods in 1964, the provider of many items at Casa de Fritos. The rest is history.
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