Corn Nuts – Ranch

As people grow and evolve, so too do their tastes and preferences. In my case, it had the unfortunately effect of transitioning my childhood love for ranch into general avoidance and occasional revulsion. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but nowadays when I smell ranch something about it makes me a little hesitant to go near the source. As far as taste goes, I still enjoy it in very small amounts, and in moderation. Maybe it’s the general saltiness combined with the slight sourness that I don’t enjoy anymore. Whatever it is, it has a direct impact on how I feel about today’s snack.

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve pretty much been a lifelong fan of corn nuts. It’s a fairly simple snack that most people can make at home easily, but I find that Corn Nuts is the most consistent so far. I’m fairly certain they make them on such a scale that they probably sell their product to other companies who resell under their own private brands. As a kid, my go to flavour was ranch. I think maybe part of it was that it was fairly straightforward salty flavour, without the weird burning aftertaste of BBQ, and not as one note as the salted flavour.

I’m a bit wary of it nowadays though, as I remember it being very strong on the flavour, which is why I enjoyed it as a kid. As an adult though, I tend to like more complex, subtle flavours. That being said, I can still appreciate the brute force approach from time to time, when I’m feeling the need to stuff my gullet fast or satisfy a certain craving. Opening the little package brings back a flood of memories, and a very strong smell. I can’t say I love the smell like I used to, but it’s bearable.

As far as texture goes, these are one of my all-time favourite snacks, and with good reason. While not for everyone, if you enjoy a hearty, crunchy snack, these are going to be your jam. These are so hard though, that if you aren’t careful or have a loose tooth, there’s a good chance they’ll get taken out with a mouthful of these. Sure you could eat them one kernel at a time, but the optimal experience is usually a handful at a time. Just be wary that the bite force required to make these crunch is so strong that, if you eat these there’s a good chance others will hear your chompers going at it. But that’s fine in most cases, because these are worth it. though if you do eat these near others, there’s a good chance they’re going to want some too, so be warned.

Flavour-wise, these are quite salty and ranchy if that makes sense. If you enjoy the generic Kraft ranch dressing, then you’ll love this flavour. If you tolerate ranch, you’ll probably still enjoy this flavour. If you dislike ranch, this would be a hard flavour to sell you on. I think the biggest aroma that these things give off is a strong mayo presence. As I grow older, my tolerance for mayo shrinks for some reason. The reason I can tolerate these is because the texture is amazing, and the flavour is somewhat mitigated by the fact that I’m chewing these so quickly that it releases the fried corn flavour and the mayo flavour itself isn’t quite as strong.

Would I get these again? Probably, yea. Would I prefer a different flavour? Definitely. Ranch just isn’t my thing anymore, but if it is, these are an easy win. What’s not to love? Intense flavour, tooth-breaking crunch. It has everything to help sate that hunger!