![Original flavor Corn Nuts](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Original_flavor_Corn_Nuts.jpg)
Corn nuts, also known as toasted corn,
are a
snack
A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home.
Traditionally, snacks are p ...
food made of
roasted
Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelization ...
or
deep-fried
Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Normal ...
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
kernel
Kernel may refer to:
Computing
* Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems
* Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution
* Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming
* Kernel method, in machine learnin ...
s. It is referred to as ''cancha'' in
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
and ''chulpi'' in
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
.
Preparation
Corn nuts are prepared by soaking whole corn kernels in
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
for three days, then
deep-frying
Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Nor ...
them in oil until they are hard and brittle.
The kernels are soaked because they shrink during the harvesting and cleaning process, and rehydration returns them to their original size.
History
Albert Holloway of
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
introduced corn nuts to the United States in 1936. He originally sold them to tavern owners to be given away free to their patrons as a snack that would be great with beer,
calling them Olin's Brown Jug Toasted Corn.
Varieties and brands
CornNuts
Holloway later renamed his product CornNuts. After Holloway and his sons Maurice and Rich learned of a breed of corn grown in
Cusco, Peru
Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; i ...
(often referred to as
Cuzco corn
Choclo, also referred to as Peruvian corn or Cuzco corn (after Cuzco, the capital city of the Inca empire), is a large-kernel variety of field corn from the Andes. It is consumed in parts of Central America and South America, especially in Ecuad ...
) that grew large kernels (some said to have been bigger than a
quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25.
Quarter or quarters may refer to:
Places
* Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town
Placenames
* Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland
* Le Quartier, a settlement ...
), the company researched developing a hybrid of the Cusco corn that could be grown effectively in California. After a decade of research, the company introduced CornNuts made with the hybrid variety in 1964.
CornNuts sold on the market today are no longer of the large Cusco corn size.
The most popular brand, CornNuts was owned by Holloway's original family company until the company was purchased by
Nabisco
Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International.
Nabisco's ...
in 1998. Cornnuts was a registered trademark of
Kraft Foods
The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015.
A merger with Heinz, arra ...
. On February 11, 2021, Kraft sold the Planters and Corn Nuts brands to
Hormel Foods
Hormel Foods Corporation is an American food processing company founded in 1891 in Austin, Minnesota, by George A. Hormel as George A. Hormel & Company. The company originally focused on the packaging and selling of ham, sausage and other pork, ...
. Corn Nuts are available in six flavors: Original, Ranch, BBQ (barbecue-flavored), Chile Picante con Limon, Nacho, and
Jalapeño
The jalapeño ( , , ) is a medium-sized chili pepper pod type cultivar of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. A mature jalapeño chili is long and hangs down with a round, firm, smooth flesh of wide. It can have a range of pungency, with Scovi ...
Cheddar.
Cornick
A
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
variant of corn nuts is cornick ( fil, kornik). Compared to the American variety, cornick pieces are typically smaller and crispier.
Garlic
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...
is the most common flavor of cornick, with other common flavors including:
chili cheese,
adobo
or (Spanish: marinade, sauce, or seasoning) is the immersion of cooked food in a stock (or sauce) composed variously of paprika, oregano, salt, garlic, and vinegar to preserve and enhance its flavor. The Portuguese variant is known as . ...
,
barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...
, lechón manok (also known as roasted chicken), and sweet. Major brands include Boy Bawang (literally "Garlic Boy" in
Tagalog, commonly sold in small packets), Corn Bits, and Safari.
A popular variety of cornick is the lighter,
chicharrón
(, , plural ; pt, torresmo ; fil, chicharon; ch, chachalon) is a dish generally consisting of fried pork belly or fried pork rinds. may also be made from chicken, mutton or beef.
Name
, as a dish with sauce, or as finger-food snacks, are ...
-like ''chichacorn'', a semi-
popped style of cornick using glutinous
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
from the
Ilocos Region
Ilocos Region ( ilo, Rehion/Deppaar ti Ilocos; pag, Sagor na Baybay na Luzon/Rehiyon Uno; tl, Rehiyon ng Ilocos) is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region I, occupying the northwestern section of Luzon and part of ...
which is treated with
lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
before frying.
Diana
Diana, a snack company in El Salvador, makes a variety of corn-nut-like snacks. These are called ''elotitos'' in Spanish, or ''cornbits''. These come in a variety of seasonings, such as Lemon, Cheese and Chili, and Barbecue. These are sold throughout Central America.
In Spain
In Spain they are a popular snack known as ''maíz tostado'' ("toasted corn"), ''maíz frito'' ("fried corn"), ''quicos'' ("Frankies") and ''pepes'' ("Joes").
The base flavor is very salty, though barbecue is also available.
Recently, crushed corn nuts are being introduced as a cover for
batter
Batter or batters may refer to:
Common meanings
* Batter (cooking), thin dough that can be easily poured into a pan
* Batter (baseball), person whose turn it is to face the pitcher
* Batter (cricket), a player who is currently batting
* Batter ...
ing.
See also
*
Puffed grain
Puffed grains are grains that have been expanded ("puffed") through processing. They have been made for centuries with the simplest methods like popping popcorn. Modern puffed grains are often created using high temperature, pressure, or extrusi ...
*
Corn snack
Corn snacks are snack foods made from corn (maize). They are often marketed, packaged and flavoured in a similar way to potato crisps.
Extruded
Extruded corn snacks come in "puffed" and "crunchy" varieties. They include:
*Puffcorn
**Cheese pu ...
*
Soy nut
Soy nuts are soybeans soaked in water, drained, and then baked or roasted. They can be used in place of nuts and are high in protein and dietary fiber
Dietary fiber (in British English fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food ...
*
List of edible seeds
An edible seed is a seed that is suitable for human or animal consumption. Of the six major plant parts, seeds are the dominant source of human calories and protein. A wide variety of plant species provide edible seeds; most are angiosperms, whil ...
*
List of maize dishes
This is a list of maize dishes, in which maize (corn) is used as a primary ingredient. Additionally, some foods and beverages that are prepared with maize are listed.
Ingredients
Corn can be Food processing, processed into an intermediate form t ...
References
External links
CornNutsCornNutsat Planters.com
Diana snacks
{{Mondelez
Products introduced in 1936
Edible nuts and seeds
Snack foods