National Tortilla Chip Day: How this Mexican cuisine staple went from leftover snack to global sensation

Today we honor the hardworking hands that have been making them for generations.

Senior Writer

UPDATED FEBRUARY 24, 2021 5:53 PM ESTFEB 24, 2021, 5:53 PM EST

Each February 24, the United States celebrates a Mexican cuisine staple that went from been a simple leftover snack to becoming a global sensation. The National Tortilla Chip Day highlights these salty snacks and honors the hardworking hands that have been making them for generations.

According to National Today, Rebecca Webb Carranza popularized the triangle-shaped tortilla chip in the 1940s after realizing that the tortillas rejected by the automated tortilla manufacturing machine at her Mexican delicatessen and factory were still good.

To reduce waste, reuse, and repurpose, Carranza decided to cut these leftovers and fry them for a family party. The snacks received so much praise that she decided to sell them at El Zarape Tortilla Factory to a dime a bag. Throughout the years, the snack popularized, and Mexicans found more ways to incorporate the chips into their cuisine, including serving them as complimentary appetizers in Tex-Mex and Mexican restaurants.

As reported by Los Angeles Time, in her establishment located at the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Arlington Avenue in southwest Los Angeles, she packed and sold them as Tort Chips. In 1994, Carranza received the Golden Tortilla award for her contribution to the food industry.

Texas declared the tortilla chip as their official snack almost a decade later of her recognition. They are so popular in the United States that a report from The Snack Food Association revealed that tortillas are outselling hotdog and hamburger buns.

There would be no tortilla chips without the original tortilla. A thin, flat, circular flatbread made initially from maize. Tortillas are part of the Mesoamerican cuisine and were first made by the indigenous peoples of the area.

Tortillas are handmade; however, by the end of the 19th century, Mexicans invented and manufactured mechanical utensils, called tortilla presses, tortilleras, or tortilladoras.

So there you have it! Today enjoy son tortilla chips with guacamole or salsa and don’t forget to thank Rebecca Webb Carranza and all the Mexicans and Mexican descent that preserve this traditional snack.