A corn roaster is a large grill for cooking large batches of ears of corn at the same time. The term "corn roaster" can also refer to a person who roasts corn. Corn roaster machines have existed in the United States since at least 1900. Corn roasters are used by concession vendors at

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

s, fairs, events, parties, and holidays, such as the Fourth of July in the United States. Roasted corn is a very popular festival food in the American South, Southwest, and Northwest. Corn roasters can also cook foods such as

turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

legs,

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es, and sweet potatoes. They may also be used by

street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumpt ...

vendors. Street vendors may operate seasonally, per the seasonality of corn crops. Some organizations that operate corn roasters at events, such as fairs, donate their proceeds to charities. Many commercial corn roasters come mounted on a trailer. The corn roasters use LPG for fuel. Smaller versions exist, such as rotary corn roasters that can be placed on a table, and some corn roasters are homemade.

Manufacturers

There are several different manufactures who make corn roasters in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. A company that produces corn roasters is Holstein Manufacturing. A brand of corn roaster is named "Roast-O-Matic". Some corn roasters can roast up to 1,200 ears of corn per hour.

Use at events

At the annual

Minnesota State Fair The Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Also known by its slogan, "The Great Minnesota Get-Together", it is the largest state fair in the United States by average daily attendance and the second-largest state f ...

Falcon Heights, Minnesota Falcon Heights is a suburb of Saint Paul and a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,321 at the 2010 census. It became a village in 1949 and a city in 1973. Falcon Heights is the home of the University of Minn ...

, a group of up to 50 to 55 personnel produces significant quantities of roasted corn, which can vary daily. This variance can range between 10,000 and 18,000 ears of roasted corn a day. Approximately 180,000 ears of roasted corn are produced for the duration of the fair. Roasted corn at the Minnesota State Fair has been described as "one of the fair’s most popular foods for more than 28 years". At the Yakima Valley Fair in

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninc ...

, the Grandview Rotary Club has been operating a corn roaster for 40 years, and donates the proceeds to various local needs.

References

External links

{{External media, align=width= , video1
"A Day In The Life Of A Fair Corn Roaster"
CBS Minnesota}
How to Start Your Own Corn Roasting Business
A guide to making a full year's income in just a few months of summer Cooking appliances Barbecue Amusement park attractions Fairs

Manufacturers

Use at events

See also

References

External links