Overview
Corn nuts, also known as toasted corn, are a snack food made of roasted or deep-fried corn kernels. It is referred to as cancha in Peru and chulpi in Ecuador.
Preparation
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.
History
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.
Varieties and brands
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).