Nacho Science

The vast majority of the content on this site was created by three guys working together in Silicon Valley. We spent a lot of lunches in the corporate cafeteria—but something was always missing: nachos. More specifically, nacho cheese.

Why? Because nacho cheese is simply the best. It’s one of the most versatile and ridiculously delicious sauces out there.

Long story short, our shared love of nacho cheese brought us together—and eventually led us to share that obsession with the world. We knew we couldn’t be the only ones.

If you love nacho cheese, you’re in the right place. And if you don’t… you might still get a laugh out of it.

Story suggestion by: Jen T. Email us a story.

What is the #1 food item is that women crave while pregnant?

You guessed it, nachos!  According to these 40 Interesting Facts, it’s true, women crave nachos more than anything else.

But are Nachos safe to eat when you’re pregnant?  Before all you pregnant women decide to raid your local 7-11 and pack your minivan full of pounds of chips and gallons of nacho cheese, you may want to read this warning.

“Women may want to think twice about ordering those nachos the next time they’re out. A new study from Harvard University has found that eating a lot of corn tortillas during pregnancy could be linked to an increased risk of birth defects.”

Source: http://www.pregnancy-info.net/in_the_news111.html

I’m going to pose a question that has come up during some casual conversations with friends of mine.

Can fondue be considered nacho cheese? 

I argue no and here’s why…

To me, nacho cheese in its simplest form is not an elegant food that the "aristocrats" of society would proclaim to enjoy.  Fondue is the opposite.  Going further, the history of nachos dates back to 1943.  You can read the full story here, but to make a long story short, it wasn’t until 1977 when nachos were brought to Arlington Stadium in Texas that the popularity of nacho cheese exploded.  Can you see people eating fondue at a ball-game?  Heck no!

My point is this…Fondue is not nacho cheese, it’s melted "wannabe" nacho cheese at best.

Post your comments, do you agree with me or disagree?

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About a week ago I took it upon myself to conduct a head-to-head comparison of two popular grocery store nacho cheese varieties – Tostitos Con Queso & Fritos Chili Cheese. Both were microwaved in their containers for three minutes, mixing well at one minute intervals. Both were delicious and while each definitely had a unique offerings, the Tostitos brand Con Queso rose up as the winner in my opinion. In the end, I felt that the Tostitos Con Queso had a better consistancy and wasn’t as runny as the Fritos Chili Cheese.

Review written by: Eric L. Email us a story.

Eric is proving to be a true ILoveNachoCheese.com Superfan. First he sends us “It’s Nacho Love (That I Need)” – an original song he wrote just for the site – now he’s written a review of some nachos he ate during a recent business trip! It’s honest, humorous, informative, and well written. He even took a picture.

Nice work, Eric. Nice work, indeed.

Click here to read the entire review.

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Sarah and No Name from Alice @ 97.3 generously invited us to their Cinco de Mayo (Thizzo de Mayo) broadcast to judge their “Battle of the Bay Taco Licking Contest.” And although nacho cheese wasn’t involved, we graciously accepted the challenge.

The contest consisted of two teams of three: The North Bay vs. The East Bay. It was a hardfought battle, but after all the tongues were tired and all the tacos were licked, the North Bay team was crowned the victors.

Overall, the entire event was great to be part of. Hooman was sporting an ILoveNachoCheese.com shirt, we got to hang out with the morning crew again, and we were able to meet some interesting loyal listeners. Even recently engaged Andrew “The Bachelor” Firestone showed up to drink and be merry!

Click here to see pictures from the event.

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We recently wrote a post about a fight that broke out between two girls at Revere High School over nachos. While police never elaborated on the circumstances, only to disclose that they were both arrested for assault and battery, there have been a few stories written about the scuffle.

One in particular, written by Susie of “Everyone loves a Boston girl,” was particularly interesting since it was from the female perspective. Susie’s post titled, “I too would fight for nachos,” suggests:

“We should create a list of rules from now on? Everyone must agree on the toppings on nachos before entering the restaurant. Always order the larger size. Only take one spoonful of salsa, one spoonful of guacamole, and one spoonful of sour cream. Don’t eat all of the nachos that are smothered and cheese and leave the bare ones.”

Brilliant, Susie. We couldn’t agree with you more. If you think about it, your instruction should really be nacho common sense… but then again, so should mindful one-for-one car merging during traffic. But it only takes one halfwit to stir up roadrage, or in this case, a nacho brawl.

[SOURCE: Everyone loves a Boston girl]

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The word Emo is short for “emotional”. It represents a type of music, personality, and fashion. Typically Emos are very sad and angry. They like to have their hair in front of their face (to hide their tears?). Emos like to wear old and beat up clothes (to conform to non-conformity?). Usually they are very shy and introverted (ashamed of their stupid hair?). Emos also listen to music with themes of confusion, depression, and loneliness (ashamed of their stupid hair?).

So what do Emos do to help hold back the tears and avoid their dark eyeliner from running? No, they don’t use waterproof eyeliner. They EAT NACHOS!

There are two pieces of evidence that help us make this conclusion:

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You may be surprised to learn that I’m not the owner of this license plate, nor are any of the other authors here at ILoveNachoCheese.com.

In fact, no one in California has snatched up this gem of a plate!  When I visited the Department of Motor Vehicles site in California, I was shocked to find that to this date, no nacho lover out there has purchased this personalized license plate.

Now that you all know, will someone grab it up before I do?  Whether I get it or not, this is possibly the BEST personalized plate I’ve ever seen (if you’ve seen one cooler).

Update: This plate is now been taken and secured by one lucky Nacho fan.

Today’s classic nacho scene comes from the movie Saving Silverman (2001). Although this scene may be short, Jack Black’s character, J.D. McNugent, reminds us of one of the most important rules when eating nachos with other people.

Wayne: Hey! What are you doing?

J.D.: Dude, if you get the nachos stuck together, that’s one nacho.

It’s settled.  If you grab a nacho and there are multiple chips stuck together, that counts as ONE nacho!  Just one point of clarification.  If a chip stuck together happened to lose a chip (i.e. one falls off) while in-transit to your mouth, then the fallen chip becomes a new chip.

Just remember, if someone you are sharing nachos with doesn’t understand the rules, just point them to this site for a little education on nacho etiquette.

Story suggestion by: Shara M. Email us a story.

Ever wonder about the word “nacho” and what its origin may be? Adriana P. Orr, former U.S. library researcher for the Oxford English Dictionary, wrote an article back in 1999 that tackled that very question. She recalls a day back in September of 1988 when a slip of paper with the word “nacho” was given to her from one of the editors. It was her job to research its etymology.

Was it back in 1978 when it appeared in an issue of the Tucson (Arizona) Magazine? Was it in 1969 when it was published in Webster’s Ninth Collegiate Dictionary? Or does it go back even further? Ultimately, Adriana’s search took her as far back as 1949 when she found a quote in a book titled A Taste of Texas:

“Sometime later he returned carrying a large dish of Nachos Especiales. ‘These Nachos,’ said Pedro, ‘will help El Capitan – he will soon forget his troubles for nachos make one romantic.”

However fascinating this magical quote was, she was never able to conclusively find the true origin.

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The Alamodome situatated in San Antonio, Texas has already seen some exciting NCAA Basketball. But today’s game against Ohio State and Memphis will determine which team from The South will advance to The Final Four. And while the fans will be cheering on their favorite team, nacho lovers around the country will be cheering for the fans.

Why?

The Alamodome food service providers expect that during the course of the two days they’re hosting the tournament, fans will consume 350 gallons of nacho cheese! That’s enough cheese to fill this 5-6 person ThermoSpa Park Ave Hot Tub!

[SOURCE: KSAT]

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Everyone loves nacho cheese, right? Wrong! We live in a crazy mixed up world where there are actually people out there trying to spread propaganda against the beauty that is nacho cheese. We have found one such individual and feel an obligation to the nacho cheese community to identify the enemy.

In an article entitled, “Behold the Evils of Cheese” posted on Visionary Darkness, a cheese-hater going by the alias Killing Joke entertains the notion that cheese is an evil force that’s taking over America. Don’t let this writer’s name full you. He is anything but joking. Make no mistake, Killing Joke is on a mission to rid the world of this wonderfully delicious gooey elixir.

Click here to read an excerpt from the article.

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Story suggestion by: Shara M. Email us a story.

Students at Oak Trace Elementary School in Westfield, IN recently participated in Kidstown, a hands-on program that teaches kids about business and money by having them create and run businesses. What set Oak Trace apart from the rest or the participating schools was what these students decided to base their business on — nachos.

“We voted on it, and nachos are something everybody wants,” said group member Zander Tidwell.

Zander, we couldn’t have said it any better ourselves.

[SOURCE: Noblesville Daily Times]

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I’ve spent the last three days in San Francisco, CA attending the Game Developers Conference. In fact, I’m at the conference right now typing up this post. Not only is this a celebration of the game industry and a place to reconnect and network, it’s also a place to bond with fellow nacho cheese lovers. However, to my dismay, I couldn’t find a single food vendor in Moscone Center selling nachos! Correct me if I’m wrong, but last time I checked (and I checked earlier today) being a gamer goes hand-in-hand with being a nacho cheese lover.

I walked the show floor and asked a number of attendies their opinion on the matter. “Do you like nachos?” and “Did you know that there aren’t nachos available here?” The response was overwhelming, but not surprising. 100% of the people polled loved nachos, and 100% of the people polled were shocked that nachos weren’t available. Fortunately…one angel in disguise by the name of Shannon lead me in the right direction. She said that one block away, Luna Azul in the Sony Metreon served nachos.

I know where I’m going for lunch today!

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