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.

[5] CornNuts sold on the market today are no longer of the large Cusco corn size.

[8] On February 11, 2021, Kraft sold the Planters and Corn Nuts brands to Hormel Foods.