Doritos are an iconic snack food that have been popular for decades. With their distinctive triangular shape, bright orange color, and bold flavor, Doritos have become one of the most recognizable snack chips in the world. But despite their popularity, many people wonder about what exactly goes into making these chips so irresistibly cheesy.
What Are Doritos Made Of?
According to Frito-Lay, the company that makes Doritos, the primary ingredients in original Doritos are corn, vegetable oil, and seasoning. The seasoning contains ingredients like maltodextrin, salt, citric acid, dextrose, onion powder, tomato powder, garlic powder, yeast extract, and natural and artificial flavors.
So while real cheddar cheese is not listed as an ingredient, the “natural flavors” are likely derived from cheese to provide that signature nacho cheese taste. The artificial flavors augment the real cheese flavor.
Do Doritos Contain Any Real Cheese?
Though cheddar cheese is not directly listed in the ingredients, some real cheese is likely used to make Doritos taste like nacho cheese.
The “natural flavors” listed in the ingredients are proprietary blends of compounds extracted from real foods like cheese, tomatoes, and onions. Natural cheese flavors provide the tangy, savory taste of cheese.
So even though the chips do not contain any solid cheese, Doritos do contain natural cheese flavors extracted from real cheese products. The exact amount of real cheese compounds used is unknown and proprietary to Frito-Lay.
Why Don’t Doritos List Cheddar Cheese in the Ingredients?
Frito-Lay likely does not list cheddar cheese directly in the ingredients for a few reasons:
– Cost – Using extracted cheese flavors is cheaper than using solid blocks of real cheese.
– Texture – Grated cheddar cheese would alter the crisp texture of Doritos. The oils in solid cheese would make the chips greasy.
– Shelf life – Real cheese contains oils that would cause Doritos to spoil more quickly. Natural flavors have a longer shelf life.
– Allergens – Some consumers are allergic to milk proteins in cheese. Natural flavors allow Frito-Lay to avoid listing milk as an allergen.
So while real cheese adds important flavor notes, using natural cheese flavors allows Frito-Lay to control costs, texture, shelf life, and allergen labeling.
How Are Natural Cheese Flavors Made?
Natural cheese flavors start off with real cheeses like cheddar, parmesan, romano, and blue cheese. The real cheese is processed to extract key flavor compounds.
This involves heating, mixing, distilling, condensing, and spray-drying the cheese to isolate its aromatic molecules. Compounds like fatty acids, esters, alcohols, ketones, sulfur compounds, and amino acids are extracted.
These isolated compounds are blended together to replicate the taste of cheese without using real cheese. Hundreds of individual compounds may be involved in a single natural cheese flavoring.
The proprietary blends of these molecules provide the characteristic cheese notes in Doritos chips.
Are There Any Other Cheese Ingredients?
In addition to natural cheese flavors, Doritos also contain cheese-related ingredients like:
– Buttermilk solids – Derived from cultured milk, these provide a tangy dairy flavor.
– Sodium phosphate – Helps emulsify oils and keeps cheese sauces smooth.
– Yeast extract – Adds a savory, umami boost similar to aged cheese.
– Annatto – A natural food coloring that gives cheddar its orange color.
So while not directly made with cheese, Doritos contain several ingredients that replicate the experience of real cheese, both in flavor and appearance.
Do Other Doritos Flavors Use Real Cheese?
Other popular Doritos flavors like Nacho Cheese, Cool Ranch, and Spicy Sweet Chili also do not contain real cheese or list it directly as an ingredient.
Again, they rely on “natural flavors” to provide the distinctive taste expected from their names. Real cheese ingredients like buttermilk solids and sodium phosphate are also used.
So despite suggesting cheese in their names, none of the standard Doritos flavors contain real solid cheese that you could grate over a dish. The natural cheese flavors provide a similar tasting experience.
Does Cheese Powder Count as Real Cheese?
Some Doritos are coated with an orange “cheese powder” on the chip exterior. But this powder is not made from real cheese either.
The cheese powder contains ingredients like whey, maltodextrin, palm oil, salt, annatto, paprika, garlic, and onion powder.
While whey is a dairy product, it is a protein byproduct, not actual cheese. And maltodextrin is an inexpensive starch powder.
So the cheese powder may include some dairy-derived components, but it primarily contains artificial colors, sugars, and powdered fats.
Do any Doritos Contain Real Cheese?
There are a few specialty Doritos flavors that do contain real cheese:
– Doritos Collisions Hot Wings Blue Cheese – Includes blue cheese flavor and Romano cheese powder.
– Doritos Collisions Buffalo Ranch – Made with real buttermilk and sour cream.
– Doritos Jacked Ranch Dipped Hot Wings – Contains real cream and cheese.
However, the standard taco and nacho flavors of Doritos found in most stores do not contain any real cheese, even in powdered form. The natural cheese flavors provide a similar cheesy taste.
Can People with Dairy Allergies Eat Doritos?
Most varieties of Doritos do not actually contain milk or milk-derived ingredients other than natural flavors.
A consumer with a severe milk allergy would still want to exercise caution given the cheese flavors present. But Doritos do not have any actual cheese, milk, or cream listed in the ingredients.
The FDA does not require companies to list milk as an allergen for the use of natural milk flavors. However, some sensitive individuals could still potentially react.
Do Doritos Need to Be Refrigerated?
Since they lack real cheese, Doritos do not need to be stored in the refrigerator. The absence of cheese and dairy products allows Doritos to be shelf-stable at room temperature.
Unopened bags can be stored in the pantry for up to 2 months before opening. Once opened, it is best to finish Doritos within 3 weeks when stored in a dry pantry or cupboard.
Refrigeration can help keep opened chips crisp after the bag is opened. But cold temperatures are not required to maintain safety and quality.
Should You Microwave Doritos?
It’s not recommended to microwave original Doritos chips. The chips contain very low moisture, so they are likely to dry out, cracker, or scorch when microwaved.
However, some flavored Doritos or Doritos made for dipping can be microwaved for short time periods to make them warm, soft, and flexible enough for dipping.
Microwaving works best for newer Doritos products like:
– Doritos Poppables – Expanded puffed chips designed to be microwaved.
– Doritos Dippers – Triangular chips made for warm dipping.
– Doritos 3D Crunch – Thick chip pyramid shapes.
For these specialty Doritos, microwave on half power in 10 second intervals to gently warm and soften without over-crisping.
Nutrition Facts for Doritos
Here is a nutrition facts table comparing a 1 ounce (28 gram) serving of regular Doritos chips to an equal serving of cheddar cheese cubes:
| Nutrition Facts | Doritos (1 oz) | Cheddar Cheese Cubes (1 oz) |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 152 | 113 |
| Fat | 8 g | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 18 g | 1 g |
| Protein | 2 g | 7 g |
| Sodium | 171 mg | 176 mg |
Doritos have a higher calorie and carbohydrate count from ingredients like corn and oils. Cheese has more protein and calcium but fewer carbs. Both are high in sodium content.
Are Doritos Suitable for a Low-Carb or Keto Diet?
Doritos are not the best chip choice for low-carb diets like the keto diet that restrict carbohydrate intake.
With 18 grams of net carbs per serving, Doritos would use up a big portion of a typical low-carb budget. Some healthier low-carb chip alternatives include:
– Pork rinds – 0 net carbs
– Cheese crisps – 0 net carbs
– Quest Protein Chips – 4 net carbs
– Veggie straws – 5 net carbs
– Baked cheese curls – 6 net carbs
Look for low-carb snack chips made with wheat protein, cheese, nuts, or fibrous vegetables as the main ingredients rather than corn or potato flour.
Are Doritos Gluten Free?
Most Doritos flavors are certified gluten-free, meaning they contain less than 20 parts per million of any trace gluten proteins.
Corn and corn flour are naturally gluten-free ingredients. However, Doritos are processed in facilities that also handle wheat-based foods.
People with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity should still use caution, as some cross-contamination is possible. But Doritos do not contain wheat, barley, rye, or malt ingredients.
Conclusion
While Doritos don’t contain solid blocks of real cheese, they do include natural cheese flavors derived from real dairy products. These natural flavors work together to produce the nacho cheese taste in a shelf-stable chip.
So real cheese is present in trace amounts in the form of compounds extracted from cheese. The total cheese content is relatively low compared to chips made with real cheese powder. But for the price and convenience, Doritos provide an affordably crave-worthy cheese flavor through science and food technology.
The iconic Doritos taste is hard to replicate exactly with real cheese alone. Their unique flavor profile comes from careful blending of natural and artificial flavors. Next time you crunch into the triangular chips, you can have a better appreciation for the food chemistry that delivers the tangy cheese goodness in each bite.