Good Taste / October 2006
Kernels of Gold
Corn in all it’s possible presentations is one of the most popular vegetables in the US. It’s also the largest US crop. Scientists believe Mayan, Aztec and Incan Indians of central Mexico developed corn at least 7000 years ago from a wild grass called teosinte. The Indians used the sugar-filled leaves of the corn plant like chewing gum, immature corn as a fresh vegetable, and ground the dry, mature corn kernels into flour. But fossil pollen grains of corn have been found in lake sediment over 80,000 years old beneath Mexico City.
A member of the grass family, corn was domesticated by Native American tribes, who called it “mahiz” or “maize,” meaning “our life” or “she who sustains us”, and was the first sustenance crop many tribes cultivated. By the time Columbus reached the New World in 1492, corn was being grown from Southern Canada to South America. When Columbus landed in the West Indies, he took the corn he was given by Native Americans back to Spain. From there, corn spread quickly throughout Europe and the rest of the world.
The Pilgrims might have died during their first winter if Native Americans hadn’t given them corn to cook and eat as bread, soup, fried corn cakes, and pudding. They also showed the Pilgrims how to grow corn by planting corn kernels with mall fish, and covering the holes. The fish served as fertilizer for young corn plants. The Indians used all parts of the corn plant. Husks were braided and woven for masks, moccasins, sleeping mats, baskets or dolls. Corncobs were used for fuel or ceremonial use.
Corn was so valuable, early settlers used it to trade with Native Americans for food and furs. Native American farmers of the Ohio River Valley had been growing corn for over 1,700 years when the first white men crossed the Appalachian Mountains.
Unlike other grains, corn cannot pollinate itself. It needs human assistance Corn is very nutritious, with very little fat, no cholesterol, only eighty calories per medium ear and generous doses of iron, vitamin C, magnesium and potassium. The five ancient types of corn still exist, though not all are used for general consumption. White or yellow Dent corn, often called “field corn”, is used as livestock feed and for grits and hominy. Flour corn is preferred for grinding into tortillas. Flint corn, also known as Indian corn, is common in colder regions because of its hardiness. And, there is popcorn, with a soft starchy center covered by a hard shell. Sweet corn, which has the most sugar, is divided into yellow, white and bicolored corn. Within each are numerous varieties or hybrids, over 200 in all, like Silver Queen or Honey and Cream. White corn isn’t as widely planted and is usually higher in price. Bicolored corn is actually about 80 % yellow and 20 % white.
Surprisingly, Florida is the number one corn producing state, and California is second. New York and Illionois are also significant corn producers.
From its original use as a food, corn now yields over a hundred by-products, like dyes, paints, syrups, starches, rubber substitutes, vegetable substitutes for lard and butter, cellulose in press boards, insulating materials and various chemicals. Sweeteners for soft drinks and deserts often come from corn syrup. The livestock industry is the largest corn user but new uses for the vegetable, especially environmentally friendly products, are discovered continually.
As a renewable resource, corn is beneficial in products like ethanol fuel, windshield washer fluid, road de-icer, and other degradable products made from corn starch.
Corn has been used in alcohol for years. There is evidence Native Americans used corn to brew beer before Europeans ever arrived. The 1792 Whiskey Rebellion was a consequence of efforts to tax corn whiskey. Long before cars were common transportation, corn was being converted into ethyl alcohol, or ethanol. Many early engine prototypes ran on ethanol. Textbooks are bound with cornstarch, ink contains corn oil, and corn is used in such diverse products as glue, shoe polish, aspirin, marshmallows, ice cream and cosmetics.
Corn is the most widely distributed crop in the world. It grows at altitudes as high as 12,000 feet and as low as sea level, in tropical climates with 400 inches of rainfall a year or in areas that receive only 12 inches.
On the cob, in a casserole, at the table or on the road, across time and across continents, corn is always in good taste. PL
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