Doritos Were Once Trash

Like a lot of foods, Doritos came about by accident. In fact, Doritos were once staled tortillas that had been thrown in the trash. Soon after Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California in 1955, a Mexican restaurant was available for customers called Casa de Fritos. The menu included tamales, enchiladas, and plenty of corn chips.

One day, a sales representative for Alex Foods noticed a pile of tortillas in the trash. The sales representative advised the restaurant to cut up the tortillas and fry them, then sell them as crispy chips instead of throwing them away.

The cook at the restaurant took the advice of the sales representative, and the rejected tortillas took on a new life and became a popular item on the menu of the Mexican restaurant. Many customers loved to snack on the chips that the restaurant began to sell them in bags to go.

The chips debuted nationally in 1966 and were named Doritos. That is Spanish for “little golden things.” The tortilla chips became the first snack of its kind to be sold nationwide.

Frito-Lay marketing executive Arch West was a fan of Doritos for the rest of his life. He loved the crunchy, spicy snack so much that when he was buried in 2011, Doritos were sprinkled into his grave. His family had everyone throw a chip on West's coffin before it was covered with dirt.

Not All Doritos Are Golden

Even though the most popular Doritos is golden, not all of them are. In 1968 Frito-Lay introduced taco-flavored Doritos. Nacho cheese, debuted in 1972, with cool ranch following in 1986. Over the years, there have been some retired flavors, but there is still a wide variety of flavors on the market. There are 17 flavors to choose from. When all the flavors were tested, the Nacho Cheese flavor was put at the top of the list. It was followed by Spicy Nacho. and Cool Ranch ranked at number 13.

A New Makeover

In 1994, Doritos received a new makeover. Even though the chips were already at the top of the snack list and were making about $1.3 billion a year, parent company Pepsico reportedly invested $50 million to improve Doritos. The new revamped Doritos got a stronger flavor, and each chip was 15 percent thinner and 20 percent larger.

The new chips now have rounded corners that make them easier to eat than the sharp points of the previous version. After the revamping of the chips, there are no more broken points at the bottom of the bags. The chips were also given more seasonings to make the flavor stronger.

The flavored nacho cheese-topped tortilla chips are found in grocery stores, convenience stores, and vending machines. The snack is tasty, but it is not exactly healthy. Scientists say the chips are designed to make them addictive. They have a high concentration of fat. Doritos are crunchy, salty, and flavor-packed. Even the dust from the chips has an intense flavor that consumers experience when they lick it off their fingers.

Changes in the Recipe

Frito-Lay changed the recipe in 1992 to give consumers a fresher breath. Up until then, the chips left an embarrassing odor in the mouths of those who ate them. The company put in more cheese and took out some of the garlic.

Back in 2003, a man sued Frito-Lay claiming the chips gave him a sore throat. The courts threw out his case because there was no scientific proof that the chips would give someone a sore throat.

One school in the United Kingdom banned Doritos Roulette because it was too spicy for some students. The bag of chips was called "Roulette" because the flavor includes a few extremely spicy chips mixed in with milder chips. After a little girl almost died after eating a spicy chip, the school immediately banned the flavor.

Doritos are often eaten right out of the bag. Sometimes they are eaten with a dip. No matter how someone eats them, they are described as being delicious. Adults love snacking on the tortilla chips just as much as kids.

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