The Surprising Story Of A Super Bowl Snack

This Super Bowl Sunday, millions of Americans will watch the game with bowls of corn-based snacks at their side. Whether you prefer Doritos, Cheetos, or even Funyons, you owe the pleasure of that crunchy munchy to the humble corn curl that started it all: the Frito.

This week, our friends at Smithsonian’s Food & Think blog trace the origins of the Frito back to entrepreneur C.E. Doolin’s encounter with a Mexican frita, or “small fried thing,” made of cornmeal, water, and salt. It was 1932 in San Antonio, and the flavor so inspired Doolin that he found the man responsible for the chips, a Mexican immigrant named Gustavo Olquin, and bought his equipment, recipe, and business contacts for $100.

Over the years, Doolin expanded the business, mechanized the chip-making process, and invented new flavors and products, like the Cheeto. The Fritos brand went on in 1961 to merge with the Lay potato chip company, another Depression-era family business.

–Ted Burnham

What Heals The World? Soup, Made By Moms

Last month I fell ill with a wretched cough. The doctor said I would get better with time, but I craved food that would sustain me on my slow plod back to health. My mom was 3,000 miles away, unable to feed me the chicken soup and Saltines of my youth.

But I found a good substitute: The kimchi soup at a restaurant just around the corner from NPR. Even though this soup has a fiery kick unheard of in the Midwestern fare of my childhood, it was simple, bracing, and comforting: just the thing to heal the sick.

-Nancy Shute

[Photo credit John Rose/NPR]

Hurling food isn’t just an American thing, either. The Greeks have been known to launch yogurt at figures they don’t like – an activity called yaourtoma, or yogurting. Last year in Athens, protesters threw yogurt at police trying to break up a rowdy rally outside of parliament.

— Here’s A Pie In Your Eye: A Brief History Of Food Fights

Virtual Victuals: A Game Turn Video Game Food Into Real Food

Food can be transformative, especially if you’re a character in a video game. When Mario ate mushrooms, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ate pizza and CJ from Grand Theft Auto ate fast food, they became better, stronger, sometimes even bigger.

But now one gamer has made that food even more enticing by putting the virtual food of video games onto her very real dinner table. That’s right: Daniella Zelli, a 23-year-old gamer in Edinburgh, Scotland, cooks up dishes inspired by games and shares them on her blog.—Kristofor Husted

[Photo courtesy of Nintendo]

Bringing Home The Fries: Fast Food Comes By Delivery

In many countries, it’s a cinch to call a local restaurant and get a freshly-cooked dinner delivered, ready to eat amidst the comforts of home. But in many parts of the U.S., the home delivery menu is usually limited to pizza and Chinese.

Burger King is trying to expand that menu by testing home delivery of burgers and fries, building on its success with home delivery overseas, including branches in Mexico, Turkey, Brazil, Columbia and Peru.

Last fall, the chain quietly rolled out home delivery in the Washington, D.C., area, with plans to expand to 16 stores in Maryland and Virginia by the end of this month.

We here at The Salt are fools for a new food adventure, so we dialed up the Burger King delivery hotline right away to test the goods. Alas, NPR headquarters wasn’t covered. Neither was this writer’s home. —Nancy Shute