Fritos
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the company that produces Fritos, see Frito-Lay.
Fritos is the name of a brand of corn chips made by Frito-Lay. Originally called Fritatas, Elmer Doolin was so taken with the bag of corn chips served with his lunch in San Antonio, Texas that he paid $100 for the recipe. In 1932, he started the Frito Corporation. Original Fritos ingredients are limited to whole corn, corn oil, and salt. Even today, Fritos (original and barbecue flavor) are a vegan snack.
From 1952 until 1967, the Frito Kid was the company's official mascot. The Frito Bandito was its mascot from 1967 until about 1971, and was discontinued due to complaints about the Bandito image. He was replaced by "the Muncha Bunch," perhaps to recall the name of "The Wild Bunch," a popular film of the time. In the mid-1970s, Fritos' mascot was a W. C. Fields caricature, W.C. Fritos. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Fritos used the catchy commercial jingle, "Muncha buncha, muncha buncha, muncha buncha, muncha buncha, Fritos goes with lunch" (sung to the tune of "Aba Daba Honeymoon").
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[edit] Varieties
- Original
- Barbecue
- Chili Cheese
- Flamin' Hot
- Jalapeno (new)
- Tangy Roasted Corn (new)
- Sabrositas (lime & chile)
- Scoops (Wider chips intended for dipping)
- Hoops (Go Snacks)
Additionally, a sub-brand called Twists is produced in two flavors:
- Tex-Mex
- Honey Barbecue
Discontinued variations:
- King Size
- Fritos Racers, the Fritos material formed into a more crunchy race car shape were sold for a short while before the introduction of Twists.
- Red Hot Reiner (mid 1970s-late 1970s)
- Nacho Cheese (late 1980s-early 1990s)
- Ranch (late 1980s-early 1990s)
- Cheddar Ranch Twists (late 1990s-early 2000s)
- Texas Grill, a thicker version of the original with "grill strips" on the chips. The honey barbecue flavor transitioned over to the twists.
[edit] In popular culture
- Frito pie is a traditional dish made with Fritos, chili, cheese, and onions in the Southern and Southwestern United States, particularly Texas.
- In the Beach Boys album Pet Sounds booklet, there is a photo of Dennis Wilson eating Fritos.
- In his song "Code Monkey", Jonathan Coulton references the snack as one of the foods the Code Monkey eats to keep his job bearable.
- Fritos appear prominently in the 2002 film Big Trouble, being consumed almost obsessively by the character Puggy.
