Wednesday, Jan. 29, is National Corn Chip Day which started all on account of the small crunchy snack that was originally the “beach snack” created from frying masa into a funky chip.
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Wednesday, Jan. 29, is National Corn Chip Day which started all on account of the small crunchy snack that was originally the “beach snack” created from frying masa into a funky chip.
In 1932 (during the Great Depression) C.E. Doolin, a tinkerer, invented the Frito, “little fried things,” when he bought a recipe from a vendor frying corn dough at a gas station. After perfecting the ingredients, the famous corn chip Frito was born.
A decade or more back, National Public Radio did an episode on The Birth of the Frito (http://www.npr.org/2007/10/18/15377830/the-birth-of-the-frito). This show details the rise of the main ingredient in Frito Pies, and Frito Jets.
Doolin, a known vegetarian, installed kitchens wherever he worked; in the factory where his specialized corn was morphed into the marketed chip “Frito.” His kitchens were the laboratories where he designed and tried out the munchie with the help of his wife and children.
When you’ve had a Frito, you’ve had one of a kind snack. I remember Frito’s in my Howdy-Doody lunch pail to compliment my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and apple. While talking to friends across the table in the cafeteria, I would line up Fritos inside the sandwich to add that extra crunch. I did this with meat sandwiches too because by the time lunch came around, the lettuce was no longer fresh. I liked the crunch and taste of the addendum to my sandwich.
My classmates would trade out their lunches – they’d trade a pb&j for a salami one; an orange for potato chips or Fritos; sometimes they would even trade for Oreo cookies. We all had to remember to bring back the lids for the Tupperware snack cup of fruit cocktail, or half pears.
As a young mom, I remember making the Frito Pie for church potluck and watching how fast the dish disappeared with each heaping spoonful on a plate. I made the hamburger-Frito-salsa dish once a week when my son wanted to watch Star Trek: Next Generation or Family Ties.
In the hot Galveston summers, I remember how my Aunt Leona dumped a package of Fritos in a salad of tomatoes, onions, Catalina Dressing, kidney beans, and shredded lettuce. Sometimes if she didn’t have kidney beans, she’d open a can of Campbell’s Pork and Beans. We’d open the doors and let the outside in, then plunk down on the hardwood floor for an inside-outside picnic.
So today is National Corn Chip Day and what better reason to reach into the bag and enjoy Fritos. After all they are made from corn, and its inventor was a vegetarian to boot. In the 1950’s it was served at a specialty restaurant at Disneyland and in 1959 Doolin had his Fritos in tow when he ran for president on the Vegetarian ticket.
Enjoy a few Fritos today. I’ll see you at Safeway when I pick up mine.
Nelda Curtiss is a retired college educator and long-time local columnist. Reach her at columnsbynellie.com or email her at columnsbynellie@gmail.com.