One of my summer goals is to eat as much of it as possible!
It helps that our neighbor Taylor's Farm Market has some of the best sweet corn I have ever tasted!
But not all corn is created equal!!
What some people might not realize is that there is a difference between sweet corn and field corn.
Here is a picture of sweet corn next to field corn. Actully here are two pictures (I added a 3rd for fun!!) because neither one of them is very good, one is dark and one is blurry!
As you can see (well maybe...) the sweet corn is a smaller plant and not as hardy looking as the field corn.
Whoops!!
I took them out of a moving truck as we were leaving at 9:00 p.m. for our mini vacation.
No, we weren't planning on leaving at 9 p.m. hence while I took the pictures on the move!!
Stay tuned for another post about our trip!
Sweet corn, bred for its sweet taste, is harvested when kernals are at the milk stage and are fairly high in moisture content.
Field corn is harvested when the kernels are hard and relatively dry and is used as a starch for animal feed. Our cows love their corn!!
When the field corn has dried down, it gets a noticeable dent at the top of the kernal.
Another difference between the two is the color of the kernal, sweet corn is usually more yellow while field corn has more of an orange tint.
Hint* the majority of corn you see in the fields is field corn!!
When I was a kid, I used to love to eat field corn, as long as I got it before it dented. It IS edible, contrary to what I heard on NPR the other day when they were discussing ethanol. Of course it's not as tasty, but the amount of corn that goes into ONE fill-up (of ethanol gasoline) would feed a person for a YEAR.
ReplyDeleteGood point Judy! Every once in a while an ear of field corn can slip into the sweet corn pot. We are doing the big family freezing party tomorrow. 36 dozen ears destined for quart bags. Bring it on!
ReplyDeleteMy grandpa used to eat field corn! I haven't been able to bring myself to eat it.
ReplyDeleteOh wow!! Who knew? Love to learn stuff like this! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteLots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
www.mawhats4dinner.com
Being a city girl, I had no idea of the difference between sweet and field corn. Thank you for the information. I thought field corn for farm animals was just inferior corn that never made it to the markets!! Love to learn!!!
ReplyDeletei always wondered how to freeze sweet corn on the cob without the cob getting soggy and affecting the taste of the corn.
ReplyDelete