Corn nuts

Corn nuts, also known as toasted corn, corn bits or quicos, are a snack food made of roasted or deep-fried corn kernels. In parts of South America, including Peru and Colombia, it is referred to as cancha.

Corn nuts are prepared by soaking whole corn kernels in water for three days, then deep-frying 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.

Albert Holloway of Oakland, California 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.

Holloway later renamed his product CornNuts. After Holloway and his sons Maurice and Rich learned of a breed of corn grown in Cusco, Peru (often referred to as Cuzco corn) that grew large kernels (some said to have been bigger than a U.S. quarter coin), 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 in 1998.Cornnuts is a registered trademark of Kraft Foods. It is available in five flavors: Original, BBQ (barbecue-flavored), Chile Picante con Limon, Ranch, and Jalapeño Cheddar.

A Filipino variant of corn nuts is cornick. Compared to the American variety, cornick pieces are typically smaller and crispier. Garlic is 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" in Tagalog, commonly sold in small packets), Corn Bits, and Safari.

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