When people find out that Arlington resident Ray Trinidad invented the snack food Funyuns in 1969 while an employee of Frito-Lay, they often ask whether he still gets royalties.
No, he tells them, the company provided all the resources. Besides, plenty of other people played a role in the project."When I talk about it, I always say, 'we.' It wasn't like you were working out of your garage and doing it all by yourself," he says. "You did your job, and you got paid."Still, even if his name won't quite go down in history, it's a fun story to recount for the soon to be 80-year-old.Trinidad was a widowed father of five when he perfected a concoction -- simple in hindsight, but two years in the making -- of fried cornmeal and water that is dyed, cut and spiced in the shape of onion rings.It all began after he earned a degree in biology from Texas Christian University. A long job search ended with a call from Frito-Lay, which at the time operated in west Dallas. Its research and development department was only about a year old, he said.At first, he didn't know what to think about the offer. "But I needed a job," he said.Rather than any expertise in the culinary arts, his scientific skills involving precise measurements and detailed recordkeeping made him suitable for the work."And lo and behold," he said, "it was real interesting. I enjoyed it. You were doing things that you had never seen before."'It all evolved'As one would expect, creating snack foods that consumers in the 1960s and '70s would find tasty was hit-or-miss.For example, one of Trinidad's ideas -- for a snack shaped like a peanut inside its cracked shell -- never panned out.Funyuns was no different. Trinidad first tried wheat starch. "I made a little ring with my hand, stuck it in the fire, took it out, salted it and tried it," he recalled. The result was not pleasing to the palate.After more trial and error, it dawned on him that the recipe for Cheetohs might hold promise. Different ratios of wheat starch and cornmeal were tried until, at last, the wheat was eliminated altogether."It all evolved," he said. "One thing led to another that led to another that led to another. When we were close, they would ask us to make a lot of them."Then they gathered all the secretaries and had everybody try a sample.With the recipe found to be acceptable, the next question was how to produce the snack so that it had the angled edges of an onion slice.In stepped company engineers and the machine shop next door. A method was devised of forcing the mixture through a tube and having a slicer rapidly lop off the leading edge.But that only produced one size of ring. Trinidad wanted three. For that, the company went to an outside firm for a new machine, he said.What's in a nameThe name Funyuns had local origins, too.The late advertising executive turned University of North Texas associate professor Jim Albright created the name after he discovered that his first choice, OnYums, was already taken.Albright, described in his July 4 obituary by the Denton Record-Chronicle as "one of the original 'Mad Men' from the '60s," also co-designed an iconic ad campaign -- think comedian Avery Schreiber exclaiming "cheeeese!" -- that ran for 12 years and made Doritos the bestselling brand for Frito-Lay.Trinidad, who spent 13 years with Frito-Lay before turning to real estate as a way to work closer to home, says he believes that one key to Funyuns' continued sales is that it's "really cheap to make."But then his daughter Veronica Scheibe reminds him that people have to like the product, too. And not only are Funyuns tasty, she says, they are also gluten-free."You can add them as a crunch to your salad or use them as a coating for your chicken," she says. "Those recipes are out there."As if by force of habit, Trinidad reaches inside a bag of Funyuns on the table in front of him, picks one out and pops it in his mouth.He chews it up and swallows, momentarily lost in thought."I think they've improved a lot," he concludes, with the kind of satisfaction that only he can feel.Patrick M. Walker, 817-983-8080Twitter: @patrickmwalker1Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
