........................................................................... .By: Brad Grasser; Wendi Piper; Amanda JeppsonHistory Fresh Sweet corn is a symbol of summer in America. The corn plant first evolved from a wild grain called teosinte that still grows in the Mexican highlands. By about 5000 BC, Indians had learned how to grow corn themselves. Trading between Indians tribes gradually spread corn to much of the Americas; by the late 1400's Indians grew corn as far south as Argentina and as north as Canada. Many tribes hold a special reverence for corn as a gift from the gods. Corn, gift from the native Americans, kept the first settlers on this continent alive during the harsh winter of 1620 on the East Coast. Today more acreage is planted to corn than to any other crop in North America; much of this is grown for animal feed and corn oil.
Sweet corn is the most American of all vegetables. Vegetable lovers in countries around the world do not butter corncobs as enthusiastically as we do; in fact, in Europe and some Asian countries, corn was a long regarded as only fit for livestock and is just now gaining acceptance as proper food for people.
. Corn, squash,and beans were once known as the "Three Sisters" by our native people-sisters who should never be apart-sisters who should be planted together. These three plants were important sources of food. In fact, corn was very important to the survival of the first English colonist during their first winter in North-eastern America. The survival of the early colonist depended on what corn they could beg, borrow or steal from the native people plus what they were able to grow under their guidence.
Myths There is an old saying that you should never pick corn until the water is boiling on the stove. That is because the standard open pollinated and hybrid corns of a decade ago did not hold well after harvest. The moment an ear was picked, its sugars began their inevitable conversions to starch. Even hours old corn would lose most of its flavor and juiciness. Supersweet corn bred for earlier maturity and sweeter ears, not so with the new sugary and enhanced.
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Corn Plants Corn belongs to the grass family. Theory suggests that at one time, each individual kernel was covered by its own floral parts similar to the kernals of oats and barley, and that the cob readily broke down into small segments. It is believed that this has allowed corn as a species to survive. The husk and cob as we know them today were gradually developed from wild varieties by the native population.
Varieties of Corn Native groups developed the major classes of corn that we all recognize today. The types being sweet, popping, flint, flour, and dent corns.
Flint corn tends to have a larger grain with relatively little flour tissue in the endosperm. Flour corn is soft, floury and breaks apart easily. Dent corn is a cross between flint and flour corn. It is used for cooking.
UsesFrom its original use as a food for man, corn now yeilds over one hundred by-products to industry. A few of the by-products are dyes, paints, oilcloths, oil for soaps, syrups, starches, size and glaze, corn gum (used as a rubber substitute), vegetable substitutes for lard and butter, corn cellulose in press boards and insulating materials and various chemicals.
. Nutrition Fresh corn has vitamins C, A, and B1, in that order, and these degrade as it ages. Corn provides 20 amino acids necessary to complete protein. Corn is very good for you because it is nateral and is in the veg. which you need so many servings of a day.
Where grown
All of these kinds of corn are grown in the Midwest, in states such as Illinios, Iowa, and Indiana.....Corn is usually grown in areas where it is warm in the summer and can be harvested in the fall.
.Retail Types .............
- Canned corn ussually sells for about a dollar a can.
- Sweet Corn usually goes for about ten ears for three to five dollars.
- Popcorn is about one dollar a bag, or five bags for about three dollars........................
..... Corn Flower Soup Recipe-........................................
1ea Pork Chop, chopped fine
1 c Water
1g Salt and pepper to taste
1ea Small can white cream corn
1ea Egg, beaten
Instructions-Add a small amount of oil into saucepan and brown the chopped pork. Add the water simmer
10-15 minutes. Add corn, salt and pepper and simmer 10 minuetes longer. REmove from heat and gently stir
in the beaten egg. Serve piping hot.
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