Who invented nachos

So how did the chips go from tortilla factory afterthought to snack aisle staple? Credit is often given to Rebecca Webb Carranza. Martinez is an interesting figure in the history of corn products—his company, known at various times as Azteca Mills, Tamalina Milling Company, and B.

Frito-Lay took her vision even further. They originally came in one flavor: toasted corn. But exactly what form that cheese takes can vary. Even today you rarely see traditional Mexican cheeses like cotija or queso oaxaca served on a platter of nachos.

A much more common choice is Monterey Jack. It originated in the Franciscan monasteries of Monterey, California, in the s. What more likely comes to mind is the semi-liquid stuff that comes in that particular shade of yellow rarely found in nature. By that time, nachos had become a popular offering in bars and restaurants in much of the United States.

Carmen Rocha, who waited tables at El Cholo Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles from to the s, is commonly credited with popularizing nachos out West.

She was introduced to them in Texas, and while working in LA, she served them as an off-menu item to customers. The dish was so popular that it quickly earned a permanent spot on the El Cholo menu and spread to other eateries throughout the region. Frank Liberto saw the potential of nachos beyond bar food. He was the owner of the concessions company Ricos Products in the s, and he thought nachos would be successful at sporting events.

Liberto knew he needed to come up with a version of nachos that could be assembled quickly, so he developed nacho cheese: a shelf-stable product that maintained its gooey consistency and was ready to be ladled onto tortilla chips the moment customers placed their order. Many brands of nacho cheese owe their perpetual meltiness to something called sodium citrate, a type of salt that lowers the acidity in cheese.

You know the old saying: Necessity is the mother of invention. Enter Mr. One evening in a large party arrived at the Victory Club, but the cook was nowhere to be seen. Someone else might have tried to charm his way out of the problem, but not the resourceful Mr. Instead, he hit upon a solution that would make him famous. Under pressure to perform, Mr. Anaya broke some tostadas fried tortillas into pieces, topped them with grated cheese, and put them under the broiler.

The result was an immediate success. So much so, that the guests wanted to know the name of this never-seen-before snack. Liberto's "cheese sauce" is a bit more processed than Garcia's original, but Garcia encouraged change. He refused to patent his recipe, Google says. So pour out a cup of that melted nacho cheese for the original Nacho today. Without him, the world would be a lot less cheesy.