I have heard all about how the Indians could survive on long trips on just a few handfuls of parched corn a day. I have also heard that this was made by basically fat-free frying of the corn in a skillet to drive the moisture out, and then pounded into powder. So I decided I wanted to make some myself. I didn't think that would be a good idea indoors because of possible unpleasant odors, but we do have a food drier. I added a can of corn (drained) to one tray of the dryer and set it for 9 hours at 130 degrees.
The result? I haven't tried to render it into powder, but one 14 ounce can made enough dried corn for about two small handfuls. I don't think I would want to survive on one can of corn per day, but it would at least keep a person going! It tastes just like canned corn (imagine that!) without being crunchy.
~Kees~