Corn is a grass that originated in Mexico 9,000 years ago from wild Balsas teosinte (Z. mays subspecies parviglumis) was originally called "teosinte" by Native Americans.
Types of corn:
- Dent (field corn): low sugar, high starch so great for corn flour (masa) for tortillas and chips. Also used to make strong alcohols (moonshine, bourbon). It has a dent in the top of the kernel, hence the name.
- Sweet corn: high in sugar, kernels are milky. This is the corn we load up with butter and enjoy in the summertime.
- Flint corn (AKA Indian corn, Native American varieties): high nutrient value, dried to make popcorn, and is also our decorative corn at Halloween. In cooking, corn meal, polenta, hominy, and grits derive from flint corn.
- Heirloom corn: rare varieties that are not mass-produced.
Corn structure:
Corn pollination:
Corn is wind pollinated when tassel pollen (male part called anther) falls on the silks (female part called stigma). A corn plant can produce 2-5 million grains of pollen that can travel up to 500ft (usually only 20-50ft though). The corn kernel is the product of the pollination event with the tassel pollen and ONE silk.
Corn life cycle:
Nutrition facts:
Native American story: 3 Sisters (corn, squash, beans)
Recipes
Credits:
Created with images by sidneydealmeida - "corn plantation in producing farm" • photollurg - "Green corn plants in cultivated agricultural field "