Whether you enjoy it freshly steamed on the cob, exploded in a microwave oven, rich and 
creamy in polenta and grits or added as an octane enhancer to your gasoline, Zea mays is an American original. Maize (which comes from its Latin name mays) was domesticated in Mesoamerica then spread throughout the Americas and eventually landed in Europe in the 15th and 16th century. Since the original strain of corn was domesticated, there have been a plethora of subspecies cultivated to produce greater yields, to pop, to produce a sweeter product, etcetera, etcetera. Whatever your favorite dish is, you’ll see there’s nothing corny about corn.
Corn Nutrition
Corn is a good source for several of the B vitamins such as thiamine, folic acid and pantothenic acid as well as vitamin C, manganese and phosphorus. While corn does contain niacin, it must first be liberated by processing it with small amounts of alkali like calcium oxide or calcium carbonate. The Native Americans observed that people were healthier if they ate corn processed with ash so it became part of their regular corn processing routine. Unfortunately when the Europeans took the grain with them, this processing method didn’t make the same journey back and the niacin deficiency disease – pellagra – was discovered. The Europeans also probably suffered from a bit of protein malnutrition since corn is relatively deficient in the amino acids lysine and tryptophan which are essential building blocks of protein. The Native Americans had this remedied by always combining bean and fish protein into their diets along with corn.
The Real McKoy
I know most people think that the ideal way to consume corn is to plunge a cob directly into boiling water – while it’s still attached to the stalk to prevent any of those precious sugars from converting into starch. Other than the logistics of getting a pot of boiling water into a cornfield and possibly avoiding a gun toting corn farmer, corn that’s boiled as soon as it’s picked isn’t all that its cracked up to be. They do have sweet corn hybrids that contain more sugar than starch (and even super sweet varieties) so you don’t have to cook straight from the stalk. I actually prefer the starchy types of corn since they have more corn flavor than the sweet varieties. It seems that the compromise in breeding sweeter corn is that we left out some of the real corn flavor. If all I want is sweet, I’ll eat a fruit.
You can also get the real McKoy slightly processed. Canned or frozen that is. This is probably the only time that my preference is canned over frozen. In fact there are many situations where I prefer frozen over fresh (peas and artichokes but that’s another column) but corn is the exception. Canned corn, especially the low sodium or no sodium variety seem to have a better texture than frozen which often suffers from some degree of freezer burn (don’t think its possible to IQF or Individually Quick Freeze individual grains of corn).
Husked, Dried and Ground
When corn is husked, dried and ground it produces what we know as cornmeal. There are variations on the common theme; steel ground when the husk and germ are removed, stone
ground when some remain, and then there are various degrees of milling from fine to course. Whatever your pantry choice is, cornmeal can be used as main course to filler to natural Teflon to canine quieter.
When cooked with water or stock, cornmeal makes a great alternative starch for your next dinner. Known as grits in the States or polenta if you’ve traveled to Italy, liquid boiled cornmeal makes a great alternative to your usual starch side dish. As an added benefit, “cornmeal mush” has a lower glycemic index or glycemic load meaning that it won’t flood your bloodstream with glucose to the extent that mashed potatoes or white bread would. Grits or polenta also are enhanced by a wide array of dried or fresh herbs, dried spices and dairy (remember that low-fat or non-fat are your best choices) just like mashed potatoes. As an added benefit, cooled cornmeal mush that’s layered in a sheet pan can be sliced into “cakes” that can be pan seared the next day and topped with salsa, chutneys or any sauce for a recyclable next day new course. Try that with day old mashed potatoes.
Coarse cornmeal added to bread or muffins add both a nice crunchy texture and appealing visual surprise with those flinty golden nuggets in every bite. One of my favorite breads; Brother Juniper’s Oreganato bread has those nuggets of cornmeal in an oregano flavored bread that is best, simply toasted with a bit of fat free cream cheese and sun dried tomato puree… nirvana. Gomenasai for my drooling. And the same bread is baked in Sonoma so it’s available for all Bay Area denizens.
Cornmeal is also used as a natural non-stick accoutrement for baking. Namely, for pizza and foccacia where a miniscule layer of cornmeal helps the dough slide off of the pizza peel and also helps to scoot it back on after it’s perfectly browned and crusted.
Finally, cornmeal also has partial non-culinary uses to keep baying canines from ruining your next cookout. Supposedly, hush puppies were so named because of their ability to silence said canines during afternoon cookouts in the South. While Cajuns and Creoles were frying their turkeys, catfish and okra, these backyards mutts interfered with the racy Zydeco and Dixieland tunes played. That’s where creative fry masters decided to simply make a thick batter with the cornmeal based coatings, fry a batch and toss to those pesky canines to silence them; “here, now hush puppy”.
Non Culinary
Lastly, corn is also used purely for non-food applications. America is still exploring gasohol or primary alcohol based fuels to power our automobiles. The primary source of this ethyl alcohol
or ethanol based technology is none other than corn. Since corn technology produces an abundance of fermentable sugars that our closest single celled cousin, fungi loves to consume, corn present the most viable option for gasohol production.Speaking of non-food sources of corn, the most abundant right now is High Fructose Corn Syrup or HFCS which sweetens most or our dietary beverages. I refer to it as non-food because I’ve never referred to soda, energy drinks or “fruit” drinks as food. They simply are chemically created sweeteners. No better or worse than table sugar but something Americans consume way too much of. Real corn “food” consists of fresh corn on the stalk, steamed for 4 minutes then let sit for another 2 to 3 minutes, then consume as soon its cool enough to handle. If you want a great corn based recipe for leftover Thanksgiving turkey, contact me at gochisogourmet@yahoo.com or through my blog site at www.the-gochiso-gourmet.blogspot.com.
creamy in polenta and grits or added as an octane enhancer to your gasoline, Zea mays is an American original. Maize (which comes from its Latin name mays) was domesticated in Mesoamerica then spread throughout the Americas and eventually landed in Europe in the 15th and 16th century. Since the original strain of corn was domesticated, there have been a plethora of subspecies cultivated to produce greater yields, to pop, to produce a sweeter product, etcetera, etcetera. Whatever your favorite dish is, you’ll see there’s nothing corny about corn.Corn Nutrition
Corn is a good source for several of the B vitamins such as thiamine, folic acid and pantothenic acid as well as vitamin C, manganese and phosphorus. While corn does contain niacin, it must first be liberated by processing it with small amounts of alkali like calcium oxide or calcium carbonate. The Native Americans observed that people were healthier if they ate corn processed with ash so it became part of their regular corn processing routine. Unfortunately when the Europeans took the grain with them, this processing method didn’t make the same journey back and the niacin deficiency disease – pellagra – was discovered. The Europeans also probably suffered from a bit of protein malnutrition since corn is relatively deficient in the amino acids lysine and tryptophan which are essential building blocks of protein. The Native Americans had this remedied by always combining bean and fish protein into their diets along with corn.
The Real McKoy
I know most people think that the ideal way to consume corn is to plunge a cob directly into boiling water – while it’s still attached to the stalk to prevent any of those precious sugars from converting into starch. Other than the logistics of getting a pot of boiling water into a cornfield and possibly avoiding a gun toting corn farmer, corn that’s boiled as soon as it’s picked isn’t all that its cracked up to be. They do have sweet corn hybrids that contain more sugar than starch (and even super sweet varieties) so you don’t have to cook straight from the stalk. I actually prefer the starchy types of corn since they have more corn flavor than the sweet varieties. It seems that the compromise in breeding sweeter corn is that we left out some of the real corn flavor. If all I want is sweet, I’ll eat a fruit.
You can also get the real McKoy slightly processed. Canned or frozen that is. This is probably the only time that my preference is canned over frozen. In fact there are many situations where I prefer frozen over fresh (peas and artichokes but that’s another column) but corn is the exception. Canned corn, especially the low sodium or no sodium variety seem to have a better texture than frozen which often suffers from some degree of freezer burn (don’t think its possible to IQF or Individually Quick Freeze individual grains of corn).
Husked, Dried and Ground
When corn is husked, dried and ground it produces what we know as cornmeal. There are variations on the common theme; steel ground when the husk and germ are removed, stone
ground when some remain, and then there are various degrees of milling from fine to course. Whatever your pantry choice is, cornmeal can be used as main course to filler to natural Teflon to canine quieter.
When cooked with water or stock, cornmeal makes a great alternative starch for your next dinner. Known as grits in the States or polenta if you’ve traveled to Italy, liquid boiled cornmeal makes a great alternative to your usual starch side dish. As an added benefit, “cornmeal mush” has a lower glycemic index or glycemic load meaning that it won’t flood your bloodstream with glucose to the extent that mashed potatoes or white bread would. Grits or polenta also are enhanced by a wide array of dried or fresh herbs, dried spices and dairy (remember that low-fat or non-fat are your best choices) just like mashed potatoes. As an added benefit, cooled cornmeal mush that’s layered in a sheet pan can be sliced into “cakes” that can be pan seared the next day and topped with salsa, chutneys or any sauce for a recyclable next day new course. Try that with day old mashed potatoes.
Coarse cornmeal added to bread or muffins add both a nice crunchy texture and appealing visual surprise with those flinty golden nuggets in every bite. One of my favorite breads; Brother Juniper’s Oreganato bread has those nuggets of cornmeal in an oregano flavored bread that is best, simply toasted with a bit of fat free cream cheese and sun dried tomato puree… nirvana. Gomenasai for my drooling. And the same bread is baked in Sonoma so it’s available for all Bay Area denizens.
Cornmeal is also used as a natural non-stick accoutrement for baking. Namely, for pizza and foccacia where a miniscule layer of cornmeal helps the dough slide off of the pizza peel and also helps to scoot it back on after it’s perfectly browned and crusted.
Finally, cornmeal also has partial non-culinary uses to keep baying canines from ruining your next cookout. Supposedly, hush puppies were so named because of their ability to silence said canines during afternoon cookouts in the South. While Cajuns and Creoles were frying their turkeys, catfish and okra, these backyards mutts interfered with the racy Zydeco and Dixieland tunes played. That’s where creative fry masters decided to simply make a thick batter with the cornmeal based coatings, fry a batch and toss to those pesky canines to silence them; “here, now hush puppy”.
Non Culinary
Lastly, corn is also used purely for non-food applications. America is still exploring gasohol or primary alcohol based fuels to power our automobiles. The primary source of this ethyl alcohol
or ethanol based technology is none other than corn. Since corn technology produces an abundance of fermentable sugars that our closest single celled cousin, fungi loves to consume, corn present the most viable option for gasohol production.Speaking of non-food sources of corn, the most abundant right now is High Fructose Corn Syrup or HFCS which sweetens most or our dietary beverages. I refer to it as non-food because I’ve never referred to soda, energy drinks or “fruit” drinks as food. They simply are chemically created sweeteners. No better or worse than table sugar but something Americans consume way too much of. Real corn “food” consists of fresh corn on the stalk, steamed for 4 minutes then let sit for another 2 to 3 minutes, then consume as soon its cool enough to handle. If you want a great corn based recipe for leftover Thanksgiving turkey, contact me at gochisogourmet@yahoo.com or through my blog site at www.the-gochiso-gourmet.blogspot.com.
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