Corn nut

Corn nuts,also known astoasted corn,are asnackfood made ofroastedordeep-friedcornkernels. It is referred to ascanchainPeru,chulpiinEcuador, andcornickin thePhilippines.
Corn nuts are prepared by soaking whole corn kernels inwaterfor three days, thendeep-fryingthem 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.
In 1936 (after the end of prohibition), Olin Huntington, an entrepreneur from the Bay Area produced them as a cheap snack to be handed out free at bars — although this fell apart when California introduced a law that forbade watering holes from handing out free food. This is what led another man, Albert Holloway, to snap up the company and pivot towards selling the corn snack in stores. He ended up trademarking the name Corn Nuts (sometimes written as "CornNuts") in the '40s, and he and his family held onto the company until 1997 when it was sold to Nabisco.
Holloway later renamed his product CornNuts. After Holloway and his sons Maurice and Rich learned of a breed of corn grown inCusco, Peru(often referred to asCuzco corn) that grew large kernels (some said to have been bigger than aquarter), 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 byNabiscoin 1998.Cornnutswas a registered trademark ofKraft Foods.On February 11, 2021, Kraft sold the Planters and Corn Nuts brands toHormel Foods.Corn Nuts are available in seven flavors: Original, Ranch, BBQ (barbecue-flavored), Chile Picante con Limon, Mexican Style Street Corn, Jalapeño Cheddar and LoadedTaco.
AFilipinovariant of corn nuts is cornick (Filipino:kornik). Compared to the American variety, cornick pieces are typically smaller and crispier. They are also traditionally made fromglutinous corn.Garlicis the most common flavor of cornick, with other common flavors including:chili cheese,adobo,barbecue, lechón manok (also known as roasted chicken), and sweet. Major brands include Boy Bawang (literally "Garlic Boy" inTagalog, commonly sold in small packets), Corn Bits, and Safari.
A popular variety of cornick is the lighter,chicharrón-likechichacorn,a semi-poppedstyle of cornick using glutinouscornfrom theIlocos Regionwhich is treated withlimebefore frying.
Diana, a snack company in El Salvador, makes a variety of corn-nut-like snacks. These are calledelotitosin Spanish, orcornbits.These come in a variety of seasonings, such as Lemon, Cheese and Chili, and Barbecue. These are sold throughout Central America.
In both Portugal and Spain, corn nuts are often eaten as a popular snack.
In Spain, they're known asmaíz tostado("toasted corn"),maíz frito("fried corn"),quicos("Frankies") andpepes("Joes"), and in Portugal, they're sold under the namemilho frito(fried corn).
The base flavor tend to be very salty, although some brands to have barbecue versions available.
Recently, crushed corn nuts have been introduced in Spain as a cover forbattering.