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World's largest Fritos Chili Pie

Frito-Lay celebrates the 80th birthday of its humble corn chip with a record-breaking chili pie.

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Brandon Wade/AP
An official from the Guinness World Records oversees the making of the world's largest Fritos Chili Pie at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas. The pie weighed 1,325 lbs. and was made to honor the corn chip's 80th anniversary on Oct. 1.

Texas, the state that swaggers with bigness, has a new record to boast: The world's largest Fritos Chili Pie in celebration of the corn chip's 80th anniversary.

At the State Fair of Texas in Dallas on Oct. 1, thousands sampled the world's largest pie that weighed in at 1,325 lb., and was made using 635 10.5-ounce bags of Fritos chips, 660 15-ounce cans of Hormel Chili without Beans, and 580 8-ounce bags of shredded cheddar cheese. The Guinness World Records officials were on hand to record the title for the biggest-ever Fritos Chili Pie, which yielded approximately 5,000 single-serve samples for fair attendees.

"For 80 years, Fritos corn chips have been a beloved American snack," said Tony Matta, vice president, marketing, Frito-Lay. "The Guinness World Records title adds a new milestone to our proud history, and we are thrilled to be celebrating alongside Fritos corn chips fans today at the State Fair of Texas."

According to Frito-Lay, Inc., the Fritos brand was born in 1932 when Elmer Doolin purchased a corn chips recipe from a local businessman and began making the first Fritos chips right from his mother's kitchen with a converted potato ricer. The popularity of the snack catapulted in 1961 when he joined forces with H.W. Lay & Company to create Frito-Lay, Inc. Doolin's mother, Daisy Dean Doolin, created recipes to help market Fritos corn chips by using them as an ingredient in a wide range of dishes, including her now-famous Fritos Chili Pie. 

For a little corn chip, that's a history with a lot of crunch.

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