Corn Nuts – Chile Picante con Limon
When I think about my earliest memory of Corn Nuts, I am reminded of a very, very specific TV ad. Specific and strange. Or perhaps memorable because it was so strange. The ad was showing a kid in class who was hungry, but didn’t have any snacks or food on hand. For whatever reason, he starts chomping down on his pencil and basically polishing it off like a pencil sharpener. The tagline was something along the lines of corn nuts being able to satisfy any crunch craving. As strange as the ad was, I would be inclined to agree.
It seemed that Corn Nuts were super common when I was a kid in all sorts of packaged forms. For whatever reason, after a few years they stopped selling bigger packs in most stores, and I could only ever find the smaller pouches like the one I have today in convenient stores and gas stations. It was because of this that I didn’t end up buying specific Corn Nut branded products, but rather the OEM version at bulk food stores. Usually referred to as toasted corn in those cases, they tended to be a bit hit or miss. Sometimes they were fresh, and sometimes they were a bit stale. Regardless, I’ve always had a penchant for toasted corn snacks, and I was always ready to risk it all.
If you’ve never tried corn nuts or any iteration of toasted corn, it’s pretty simple in concept. They take a specific breed of corn that come in very large corn kernels, and they remove them from the cob. They soak the kernels in oil before they deep fry them until they are a nice golden brown before salting them with seasoning. The end results is a delightfully loud, crunchy snack that can satisfy cravings in a pinch (at least in my case).
I only remember ranch, BBQ and salted flavours as a kid, so seeing this is a welcome surprise. This flavour is supposed to be a spicy flavour with a zesty lime kick to it. It sounded different enough that I was intrigued and couldn’t help but try it out. I’m not big on spicy snacks, but I also know that most mass market snacks these days can only crank spicy up so high before they lose people due to being “too spicy”. I see a lot of people say they can handle spicy foods or even enjoy it, but can’t handle the simplest spicy snacks. So I guess that’s why they typically aren’t that high on the spice scales.
Just as I remember, corn nuts have one my favourite textures in a snack – they are tough, and reward you with a very hearty, satisfying crunch. When I say hard, it’s the kind of hardness that would probably knock a tooth loose if it was starting to wiggle in your mouth. I’m willing to bet good money that orthodontists specifically tell people not to eat corn nuts because of how good they are at removing braces. I have to clarify that fresh and well done corn nuts are hard on the outside, but once you break them apart, they crunch very well and have that distinct fried corn snap to them. Stale cor nuts are hard to bite into, but don’t have a clean break. It’s like eating a stale corn chip that has a hard but un-crunchy texture, and is possibly one of the worst things ever.
The flavour is not what I expected, but in a good way. I was expecting something to be mostly just spicy with the taste of lime. What I got instead was something with quite a bit of flavour as well as the zesty lime. The flavour starts out with a bit of salty onion and paprika flavour, with a very mild spice. So mild that, I almost didn’t notice it. While I’m not complaining about the lack of spice, since the flavour makes up for it, you may be disappointed if you were expecting a nice kick in the taste buds. The lime after taste that comes near the end is probably what makes me really enjoy this flavour. It’s strong enough to tap you on the shoulder and say “hey, I’m lime!” but not intrusive enough that it follows you around the room as you try to make small talk with the other guests at the party. It’s just right.
One thing I should probably mention about Corn Nuts and most toasted corn snacks in general is that they tend to be on the salty side. Unless you opt for the unsalted or lightly salted flavours, they tend to go pretty crazy with the seasoning to get maximum flavour. While I’m kind of used to it, I can see how this might throw some people off, so if you do end up trying them, maybe have some water or a nice cold one readily available. It’s also what makes them a great bar snack.
It’s been a while since I’ve had the other flavours, so hopefully I can get my hands on them and try them out to give an opinion on them as well. As a whole though, corn nuts remain a favourite for me, and I would recommend them to anyone and everyone, assuming you don’t have any issues with chewing or teeth, as these will do some damage if you aren’t careful. But the pay off is totally worth it.
