By Keya Nijhawan
Whether you are vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian, or have been blessed with a stomach that agrees with all foods (I’m lactose intolerant and not bitter about it at all), there is a type of tortilla chip for everyone. They come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors, just like us. So naturally, National Torillia Chip Day is something all should celebrate! Perhaps we should change our mascot from the Lion to the tortilla chip.
As discussed on the National Day website (it’s a thing), your average tortilla chips are made from corn tortillas and then cut into wedges and then fried. Most tortillas are made from vegetable oil, salt, and water; the type of corn varies. The most common is yellow, but some can be blue or red. Tortilla chips are considered to be a Mexican food, but were first mass-produced in Los Angeles, California in the late 1940s.
According to National Day, Rebecca Webb Carraza was inspired to make tortilla chips because when her tortilla machine messed up it would discard the misshapen tortillas. She then realized that these tortillas could be cut into triangles and fried. This discovery led to her eventually winning the Golden Tortilla Award in 1994.
The amazing thing about tortilla chips is that they can be paired with many different dips like guacamole, queso, and salsa. They can be made at home and kept for days on end. You can simply dip your chip in the dip or even make nachos, by melting some cheese on top of the chips. I pound Lactaid so I can do this.
If you are feeling ambitious you could make your own tortilla chips, if it goes horribly wrong, sorry! According to the website Inspired Taste the quickest and easiest way to make tortilla chips is to cut tortillas into triangles and fry them in oil at 350 F. If you are like me and scared of hot oil you can bake them in the oven at 375 F.
Tortilla chips are also a great social snack according to National Today. They are a great snack to share with your friends as you can put them in a big bowl and have lots of dips for people to choose from. There are even different variations of the dips that you could serve with the chips. For instance, salsa comes in different spice levels, hot, medium, and mild; it also comes as chunky or smooth. Overall, the atmosphere one can create with chips and dips is unmatched, so naturally National Tortilla Chip Day is a must have in your life, especially because the Untied States is the primary market for tortilla chips.
One of the buyers in that market is sophomore Anna Fow whose favorite tortilla chip brand is Tostitos. “They are great to snack on after a long run,” she said.
When I asked people where they would go for some good chips and salsa with their friends, seniors Charlotte Lee, Malyssa Darville, and Caroline Colavito all said in sync, “Taqueria del Sol.”
Sophomore Landyn Murphy, who was in the alcove, felt the need to be different, so he replied, a bit gruffly, “Moes.”
National Tortilla Chip Day is so easy to celebrate as you could eat tortilla chips plain. They are on average 10 calories a chip. You could make nachos, eat chips and dip, or even visit a restaurant, like Taqueria Del Sol, to eat some fresh hot tortilla chips! Even the gluten-free folks can enjoy National Tortilla Chip Day as gluten-free tortilla chips are now everywhere, so no more excuses. Everyone should be celebrating National Tortilla Chip Day in the upcoming years!
