January 29

is

National Corn Chips Day

Today’s five things you should know about

Corn Chips

  1. The “original” corn chip is the Fritos Corn Chip, first sold in the 1930’s.
  2. “Frito Chili Pie” was invented in the 1960’s by Teresa Hernández, a cook at Woolworth’s lunch counter in Santa Fe.
  3. While American-style corn chips and tortilla chips are both made from corn, the corn in tortilla chips is subjected to the nixtamalization process, resulting in a milder flavor and aroma, and a less rigid texture.
  4. In the Southwestern US, a popular dish, Frito pie, is made with corn chips and chili.
  5. In some areas, it is popular to pour the chili into a bag of corn chips and eat the mixture directly from the bag.

On This Day in Food History…

  • 1878 The 1st patent for a glass milk container was issued to George Lester.
  • 1924 Carl R. Taylor patented the 1st ice cream cone rolling machine.
  • 1978 Sweden banned aerosol cans. (Think Redi-Whip or Cheez-Whiz)