It had never occurred to me that there are different types of
corn. I mean, I have seen the white, yellow and even blue
varieties, and understood that there are botanical differences
between them, but I had always thought that the corn I boil and
serve to the kids is the same as the corn that goes into the
breakfast cereal.
It turns out this is not the case at all.
In fact there are two distinct categories of corn that are used
for two equally distinct purposes. Field corn, more commonly
referred to as 'maize', is a straw-coloured tough and knobbly plant
whose kernels are ripened on the stalk until they are almost
completely dry. Low in sugar and high in starch, this is the corn
that becomes transformed into flakes, cornflour and all manner of
bakery items.
In another paddock one might find a green-hued corn with soft
and pliable kernels. This corn has high reserves of sugar, and
produces a milky-white sap if cut. This is sweet corn, also know as
'Indian corn', a naturally occurring mutation of the older maize
that is believed to have first emerged in mid-18th
century America, well after European settlement.
While maize had been popular with the settlers of the New World
as a fast-growing and highly productive crop that enabled bread
production, the sweeter version gave them a table vegetable in
additional to the cereal grain they already cultivated. This was a
major step forward in the food needs of the emergent population as
malnutrition was common, mostly due to a lack of amino acids.
Scientists studying the diet of early American settlers
discovered that while neither corn nor beans (the two staple foods
of the period) contained a sufficient balance of essential
nutrients, when eaten together something extraordinary happens. The
corn contains an enzyme that make the amino acids in the beans
digestible, while the beans contain an enzyme that make the
calories of the corn more readily absorbed. It was a natural
partnership.
Sweet corn is always picked at an immature stage, while the sap
is still present, but sometimes the corn is picked even earlier, at
a truly immature stage we know as baby corn. This corn is plucked
before the long threads called 'silks' emerge. These silks are the
device by which the plant reproduces, extending out beyond the ear
to collect passing pollen. As these baby corn have not become
sexually mature, they are also significantly less sweet, as the
sugar development occurs as part of the process by which maturation
takes place.
Baby corn is especially popular in East Asia, where it was
considered a badge of wealth after the plant's introduction in the
19th century. But today, it's more widely used,
especially as an easy way to get vegetables into stubborn
children.
Go to Fast Ed's Roast Chinese Chicken with Baby Corn
recipe.
See all of Fast Ed's
recipes.
This article was kindly provided by Fast Ed.
It first appeared in The Manly Daily.