Totopo

A totopo is a flat, round corn product similar to a tortilla. In the United States, however, it’s a brand name for a triangular tortilla corn chip. The Mexican totopos and the American totopos are quite different.
 
 
Double-Tongued Word Wrester
totopo n. a baked corn tortilla.
Citations:
1986 Toronto Star (Can.) (Oct. 4) “Let hot bean soup kick off fiesta” p. (recipe): 8 totopo (corn chips) crumbled.
*2004 [Ricardo J. Salvador] Culture and Society of México FAQ “What is the recipe for the tortilla?”: A totopo is a tortilla that is made with salt in the dough and is then baked dry, rather than pliable. This toasted tortilla was made specifically for travellers, as it keeps without spoiling.
*2004 [Marcela Coronado Malagón] Unidad de Estudios Sobre Empresas, Migración y Empleo en el Campo (UESEMEC) (Universitaria, México) “La Guerra del Totopo”: El totopo es una especie de tortilla tostada de maíz de diversos tamaños, elaborado con masa de maíz preferentemente de la variedad zapalote, maíz criollo de la región.
 
Wikipedia: Totopo
Totopos, in Mexican cuisine are a flat, round corn product similar to a tortilla best known as originating from Zapotec peoples of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. There, the Zapotec women bake totopos in a clay oven known as a comixcal. Totopos resemble a round, baked tortilla chip or certain types of Scandinavian flatbread, however, unlike tortillas, salt is added to the masa and holes are made in the disk prior to baking. An important feature of the baking and salting process is preservation, to prevent the decomposition of the corn and growth of mold, regular tortillas generally need to be eaten the same day as they are made (or stored cold) due to the moisture content, where as totopos may be stored for future consumption, in the same manner as dry crackers.
 
In some cases fried tortilla chips commercially made in the US are labelled as or referred to as totopos although they are not made in the manner of the Oaxacan totopo.
 
Google Books
The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft
by Hubert Howe Bancroft
Pg. 365 (More on California Food):
The women also made a thick tortilla of maize called niscoyote, in which fat was an ingredient in a small quantity, together with sugar, panocha, or honey to sweeten it. There was a way of making the common tortilla last many months by mixing in yucca, and drying in ovens. Thus prepared, they were called totopo, and furnished to campaigning soldiers.
 
Google Books
Terry’s Guide to Mexico
by T. Philip Terry
Revised Edition
Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company
1935
Pg. 244e:
TOTOPO is a very thin tortilla toasted then fried.
 
Your Mexican Kitchen:
A Compilation of Mexican Recipes Practicable in the United States
by Natalie V. Scott
New York, NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons
1935
Pg. 7:
TOTOPOS
Totopos are small round tortillas (see TORTILLAS) with little ridges made across them, fried to crispness in very hot lard; they curl up a bit if the lard is properly hot. Any of the things that go inside a taco can be served to advantage spread over the crisp hot totopos. To serve with cocktails, it is best to make them quite small, ranging in size from that of a dollar to that of an after dinner coffee saucer.
   
Google Books
Using Spanish Vocabulary
by Ronald Ernest Batchelor and Miguel Angel San Jose
Cambridge University Press
2003
Pg. 79:
totopo  triangular tortilla chip made with maize
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark TOTOPOS
Goods and Services IC 030. US 046. G & S: TORTILLA CHIPS. FIRST USE: 19850225. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19850225
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Design Search Code
Serial Number 73562258
Filing Date October 9, 1985
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition November 18, 1986
Registration Number 1428629
Registration Date February 10, 1987
Owner (REGISTRANT) MEXICANA, INC. CORPORATION ILLINOIS 3400 WEST 35TH STREET CHICAGO ILLINOIS 60632
(LAST LISTED OWNER) RHS CO., INC. CORPORATION ASSIGNEE OF ILLINOIS
Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED
Attorney of Record RICHARD M. HORWOOD
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR).
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark DONA MARIQUITA’S TOTOPOS
Goods and Services (ABANDONED) IC 030. US 046. G & S: tortilla chips. FIRST USE: 19940000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19970000
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Design Search Code
Serial Number 76239726
Filing Date April 12, 2001
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Owner (APPLICANT) Dona Mariquita Ltd. Co. LTD LIAB CO TEXAS 2138 Welch Street Houston TEXAS 77019
Attorney of Record Steven R. Borgman
Disclaimer NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE “TOTOPOS” APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Abandonment Date November 17, 2003