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Lone Star Menu: Tastes of Texas

An image of the state of Texas in the background in blue with a restaurant style sign in the foreground showing a chefs hat and eating utensils along with the text of Lone Star Menu Tastes of Texas


In This Exhibit:   Chips and Salsa  |  Surf and Turf: Seafood  |  Surf and Turf: Beef  |  On the Side  |  Something Sweet  |  Wash it Down  |  Lone Star Recipes  |  Take Away  |  HOME

Chips and Salsa

A basket of warm tortilla chips with the right amount of salt, paired with a bowl or two of spicy salsa, serves as the perfect starter for a quintessential Tex-Mex meal. Corn was a staple of native peoples living in what is now Texas and Mexico before Europeans arrived, and it emerged as the state’s leading crop by the nineteenth century. Crispy tortilla chips are a product of the 1940s, with commercial versions now available in grocery aisles across the country. 

Salsa started to become popular in the United States at about the same time as the chips in the mid-twentieth century, but its origins date back thousands of years to the Mesoamericans. Texas had an early entry into the canned salsa business when David Pace established Pace Foods and created Pace Picante Sauce in 1947. Pace offered salsa along with other condiments. Eventually, the salsa business was so strong that Pace focused solely on perfecting his version. The Texas Department of Agriculture promoted Texas food products like Pace salsas at the State Fair of Texas.

 

A photograph of a mug of beer with a cup of salsa on the right, a plate of nacho chips with guacamole, tomatoes and onions in the foreground, and a basket of nacho chips on the left. Chips and salsa. Texas Tourist Development Agency Photographs and Audiovisual Materials, 1991/077-411-021.

Chips and salsa. Texas Tourist Development Agency photographs and audiovisual materials, 1991/077-411-021. Click or tap on image to view larger version.

Tortilla chips and salsa are the official state snack of Texas. They are now considered a staple at any Tex-Mex restaurant.
Check out the full list of official Texas State Symbols: www.tsl.texas.gov/ref/abouttx/symbols.

 


 

A photograph of an exhibit display all in red showing jars of Pace picante sauce and a sign on a stand on the right that says Better Flavored Hot Sauce. Pace display, Taste of Texas – Dallas, January 22, 1970. Texas Department of Agriculture photograph collection, 2001/078-3-70-12.

Pace display, Taste of Texas – Dallas, January 22, 1970. Texas Department of Agriculture photograph collection, 2001/078-3-70-12.
Click or tap on image to view larger version.
 



A book cover showing photos of artifacts, corn stalks, and a building on top of a yellow background. Native Inheritance: The Story of Corn in America, 1966. Main Collection, 633.15 W144.

Native Inheritance: The Story of Corn in America, 1966. Main Collection, 633.15 W144.
 Tortilla chips are made from corn, a staple crop of Native American populations throughout the Americas.
 Click or tap on image to view larger version.
 

 

The front of a one sheet of paper with black text and a library sticker on the upper left and drawings of vegetables on the upper right. “Home Canned Salsas,” 1999. TX Documents, Z TA265.7 L47 No. 5310.The back of a one sheet of paper with black text and a library sticker on the upper left and drawings of vegetables on the upper right. “Home Canned Salsas,” 1999. TX Documents, Z TA265.7 L47 No. 5310.

“Home Canned Salsas,” 1999. TX Documents, Z TA265.7 L47 No. 5310. Click or tap on links and images to view larger versions.

>The Texas Agricultural Extension Service, part of the Texas A&M University System, regularly publishes recipes such as these that utilize Texas produce.


 

 

The cover of Cooking with Texas Highways showing a photograph of a pan with meat and vegetables at the top and a photograph of differently colored peppers at the bottom. Cooking with Texas Highways, 2014. TX Documents, Z UA380.8 C776te 2014.A two page spread from the Cooking with Texas Highways with a photograph of bowls of salsa on the left page and a recipe titled Laura’s Salsa on the right page. Cooking with Texas Highways, 2014. TX Documents, Z UA380.8 C776te 2014.

Cooking with Texas Highways, 2014. TX  Documents, Z UA380.8 C776te 2014. Click or tap on image to view larger version.

The Texas Department of Transportation publishes the magazine Texas Highways, which regularly includes recipes and stories about food. The first Texas Highways cookbook was published in 1986.
 

 

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Lone Star Menu: Tastes of Texas Exhibit Pages:
Home | Chips and Salsa | Surf and Turf: Seafood | Surf and Turf: Beef | On the Side | Something Sweet | Wash it Down | Lone Star Recipes | Take Away

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Page last modified: February 20, 2025