Home Today Is Tortilla Chips Were First Produced In Los Angeles Not Mexico

Tortilla Chips Were First Produced In Los Angeles Not Mexico

tortilla chips

Updated March 18, 2024

Tortilla chips were initially an afterthought, a simple snack made with leftover tortillas. But these crispy triangles of deliciousness soon became a nationwide sensation, and each February 24, we celebrate these salty snacks with National Tortilla Chip Day.

  • 10,000 BC – Certainly, the beauty of the Tortilla Chip would be nothing without its ancestor, the illustrious tortilla. It was developed right around the time that corn was first domesticated in the Sierra Madre region of Mexico. Mayan legend says the first tortilla was a gift to a king.
  • 1600 – The word “Tortilla” is first documented. Coming from the Spanish word meaning “little cake,” the word is first reported and was likely named such by Spaniards who were explorers in Central America.
  • 1940s – Even though tortilla chips have always been considered to be Mexican food, known as tostados, they were first mass-produced in Los Angeles in the late 1940s.
  • 1940s – Rebecca Webb Carranza repurposes rejected tortillas from the automated line at her workplace. Carranza then sold them for a dime a bag at the El Zarape Tortilla Factory
  • 1943 –  Another favorite dish made with tortilla chips is nachos.  The dish was first created around 1943 by Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya.
  • 1960s – Doritos were invented in Disneyland. Frito-Lay operated a restaurant there called Casa de Fritos. A salesman noticed stale tortillas were being thrown out, so he suggested frying them.
  • 1962 – Taco Bell debuted in Downey, California, back in 1962; created by a man named Glen Bell, whose customers called his tortilla-wrapped products “tay-kos.”
  • 1966 – The Doritos brand is the first toasted tortilla chip launched nationally in the U.S.
  • 1981 – Following on the heels of the popular flavored Doritos, the company introduces Tostitos, which is a plain tortilla chip that continues to top the charts in sales over the years.
  • 1994 – Rebecca Webb Carranza received the Golden Tortilla Award in 1994 for her contribution to the Mexican food industry.
  • 2003 – Texas made tortilla chips and salsa the state’s official snack. Students at an elementary school in Texas contacted their state Representative to request that Tortilla Chips and salsa be designated a state snack.
  • 2006 – Frito-Lay made the first “game day” connection, launching its “Crash the Super Bowl” competition.
  • 2010 – According to a report from The Snack Food Association, tortillas are outselling hotdog- and hamburger buns.
  • Another inventor of tortilla chips was probably Jose Martinez of San Antonio, Texas. According to the book Taco USA, Martinez invented mass-produced masa, which is what tortillas are made out of. He found himself with lots of extra masa, so he decided to cut it up and toast the pieces into chips.
  • The United States is one of the primary markets for tortilla chips. 
  • In Mexico, Tortilla Chips are called tostados, toasted chipsOutside of North America, they are called “corn chips.”
  • Tortilla chips are considered the most fattening item sold in Mexican restaurants, with as much as 2 grams of fat per chip.
  • One tortilla chip contains approximately ten calories.
  • The word tortilla comes from the Spanish word “torta,” which means round cake.
  • In Guatemala and Mexico, there are three colors of maize dough for making tortillas: white maize, yellow maize, and blue maize (or black maize).
  • The typical Mexican family of four consumes more than 2 pounds of tortillas daily.
  • Today, tortilla chips are one of the most popular snack foods, only behind crackers and potato chips.
  • The United States is one of the primary markets for tortilla chips.
  • The name tortilla comes from the Spanish word “torta,” meaning a round cake or bread. These rounded buns are used in Mexico to create delicious, multi-layered sandwiches that contain everything from steak or black bean paste to chicken, grilled onion and avocado.
  • Variously called sopaipillas, pupusas, and tlayudas, these corn flatbreads are very much like French crepes both in preparation and in purpose.
  • Amazon sells 51 different brands of tortilla chips on its site
  • Nachos without tortilla chips are just a gooey mess. Tortilla chips make the dish, and this dish is one of the best foods in existence. This alone makes the tortilla chip a national treasure.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Foodimentary

Mobile-Cuisine

Caliplate

Fill Your Plate

Mental Floss

My Pig Radio

Days of the Year

National Today