From humble beginnings in 1916, Mountain Pass Canning grew into the Old El Paso brand nationally in 1955 and regionally in 1978.
To help encourage the growth of the expanding Mexican food marked, Old El Paso produced the Sun Country Mexican Cookbook that same year.
Following is some early history of the brand followed by some must try recipes:
Beginning of Mountain Pass Canning
The Deming Headlight of Sept. 23, 1921, reports the beginnings of Mountain Pass Canning:
Down in the southern part of Luna County there is an industry that has been running steadily for the past five years, an industry of which very few people in Deming know anything.
In 1916, A.C. Powell, who had been farming along other lines, took over the original plant of the Hondale cannery, when that establishment bought its present equipment.
Mr. Powell hauled the machinery to his farm down in the gap country between here and Columbus, set it up, planted a moderate acreage of tomatoes and started to can the product. The tomatoes are sold under the name of the Mountain Pass brand.
04 SEP 1966 – READY FOR MORE – Taco-sauce makers are ready for some more green chile, which is chopped in this machinery for use in a variety of sauces and dips for the Mountain Pass products.
Mountain Pass moves to Upper Valley
Mountain Pass was moved to the Upper Valley in 1925. A second operation was opened in Canutillo in 1934.
In November 1941, Idus and Sam Gillett, owners of the Valley Canning Co. in Canutillo, announced their new line of canned goods, Old El Paso Brand, consisting of tortillas, enchilada sauce, pinto beans and green chili peppers.
The four items, tortillas, enchilada sauce, pinto beans and green chili peppers, were grouped together to offer a complete Mexican meal and were shipped all over the country for $1.50, plus postage.
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Old El Paso brand launches nationally
In 1943, James A. Dick, J.L Dodson, Harry C. Ferris and George E. Burns bought the Mountain Pass cannery.
Mountain Pass bought Valley Canning in 1955 and launched the El Paso brand foods everywhere except New Mexico, Arizona and West Texas.
In those areas, operations continued to market their products under their established brand names of “Mountain Pass” and “Valley.”
In 1958, Mountain Pass announced that operations would move to Anthony, Texas, after the end of the canning season.
In 1968, Mountain Pass was bought by Pet Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri.
In 1988, the company name was changed to Whitman Corp., adapted from Whitman’s Chocolates, a division of Pet Inc.
Pillsbury Co. became the owner in 1995 when it bought Pet Inc., then General Mills when it bought Pillsbury Co. in October 2001.
In February 2002, General Mills announced it would close the canning factory in Anthony and Old El Paso brand food would no longer be produced in the area.
Old El Paso Sun Country Cookbook.
Old El Paso Sun Country Mexican Cookbook recipes
These recipes were taken from the El Paso Times, Oct. 3, 1978.
El Paso Bean Bake
½ cup chopped onionI clove garlic, minced6 tablespoons cooking oil4 teaspoons all-purpose flour2 15-ounce cans Old El Paso Mexe-Beans1 7 ½-ounce can Old El Paso Tomatoes and Jalapenos2/3 cup yellow cornmeal¾ teaspoon salt¼ teaspoon baking soda1 beaten egg½ cup milk1 12-ounce can whole kernel corn with sweet peppers, drained1 cup (4 ounces) shredded American cheese
In large saucepan, cook onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons of the oil till onion is tender but not brown. Blend in flour. Stir in Mexe-beans and tomatoes and jalapenos. Cook and stir till slightly thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; set aside.
In bowl, combine cornmeal, salt and soda. Combine egg, milk and the remaining 4 tablespoons cooking oil. Add to dry ingredients, along with the corn; mix well. (mixture will be thin,)Pour about 2/3 of the cornmeal mixture into greased 2-quart casserole or a 12×71/2×2-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese; spoon bean mixture over all. Spoon remaining cornmeal mixture around edge of casserole. Bake, uncovered, in 350-degree oven 35 minutes or till cornmeal topper is done.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Old El Paso Chili Con Carne
2 cups cubed cooked chicken1 11-ounce can condensed cheddar cheese soup1 8-ounce can tomatoes, cut up½ cup uncooked packaged pre-cooked rice2 tablespoons Old El Paso Chopped Green Chilies1 15-ounce can Old El Paso Chili Bean Tamales
In skillet, combine the cooked chicken, cheese soup, tomatoes, rice and green chilies. Drain sauce from tamales and add to chicken mixture. Cover and simmer 5 minutes over low heat. Meanwhile, remove wrappers from tamales; cut tamales into 1-inch pieces. Place pieces atop chicken mixture. Cover, cook over low heat till tamales are heated through, about 10 minutes.
Makes 4 servings.
Old El Paso Acapulco Pizza
What do you get when you cross an Italian pizza with spicy Mexican flavor? A new easy meal that’s doubly tempting.
For 4 to 6 servings, place a large flour tortilla on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 2 minutes. At the same time, brown 1 lb. ground beef and drain. Stir in 5 tablespoons Old El Paso Taco Seasoning and ¾ cup water; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, another 10-15 minutes.
Pour 1 can Old El Paso Refried Beans with Green Chilies over the tortilla, top with meat. Bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes. Top with 1 cup shredded cheese an bake 2 more minutes. Sprinkle lettuce, tomato, green peppers and Hot or Mild Old El Paso Taco Sauce on top.
Old El Paso Meat ‘n Potato Tacos
1 pound ground beef8 ounces (2 cups) frozen hash browns1 medium onion, chopped (1/4) cup1 10-ounce can Old El Pao Tomatoes and Green Chiles12 Old El Paso Taco ShellsLettuceShredded cheddar cheeseOld El Paso Taco Sauce
In skillet, combine ground beef, hash browns and onion; cook till meat is brown and onion is tender. Stir in seasoning mix and tomatoes and green chilies; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes.
Heat taco shells according to package directions, spoon meat mixture into taco shells; top with lettuce, shredded cheese, and taco sauce.
Makes 12 tacos.
Trish Long may be reached at tlong@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Old El Paso recipes for Bean Bake and Chile shared in 1978 cookbook