The Roots of my Corn Obsession

by Andrea Savard

My earliest memory of corn was when I was nine years old living in rural Nanaimo. Our neighbour had a large vegetable garden filled with anemic carrots, shriveled peas, and exotic weeds. It was your typical under-achieving garden-variety garden, except for one thing . . . it had corn. For my friends and I corn was the ultimate of treasures: a golden treat with its very own husk. Just before it would get dark, we would sneak into the garden and rip off an ear for each of us and eat the corn raw in our fort (which was really an abandoned goose coop made a little more luxurious with the help of some old carpet, curtains, and chairs).

Maybe it was the initial thrill of stealing or maybe it was the milky sweat taste of uncooked vegetables, but whatever it was made a lasting impression on me. Nowadays, I can’t go so much as a week without ingesting the infamously indigestible yellow vegetable. Even the mere sight of it, with its sunshiny face and cute little nibblets, makes me smile to this very day. But corn isn’t just important to me. It’s been an economic staple to many cultures around the world. It’s infiltrated our vernacular i.e. "That movie was so corny." It’s been manipulated and transformed into hundreds of almost unrecognizable consumer products like corn nuts, chips, whiskey, beer, syrup, starch, cereal, and of course, the almighty corn dog. It’s hard to imagine a life without corn. Whether we like it or not, all of us have been touched in some way by the culture of corn. And I for one am damn glad.

In the beginning . . . there was corn

Corn was an important food source for many cultures from the Aztecs in Mexico to the Mayas in Guatemala to the Incas in Peru and even Native Americans. These people used corn as a main staple in their diets, as well as using cornhusks for masks, moccasins, sleeping mats, baskets, and dolls. Corn was also used as money for trading with the early settlers. The word for corn was mahiz, which the Europeans called maize. Before the settlers came to North America they had never seen corn. The Native Americans taught the Europeans how to grow corn as well as the various uses of corn. It wasn’t long before corn was being planted in Europe where the English word corn came from the Norse korn, which means a grain sized lump of something. Although corn was a part of the lives of many native tribes before European contact, corn is now part of a much broader culture, an import/export culture, and a multi-billion-dollar industry. Corn has a large Internet presence with thousands of sites related to corn and the different cultures that corn represents, from the university departments that study corn, the corn associations around the world and the people who incorporate corn into their lives through music and movies.

Corny Statistics

The United States grows 75 million acres of corn yearly, which is 20% of the world's average. Iowa and Illinois produce 11-14 million acres of corn each year, which is 40% of the total United States production. Other corn states are Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, South Dakota, and Missouri. Corn is also grown in China, Brazil, Mexico, India, Russia, South Africa and Canada. Corn needs a long growing season, adequate moisture, fertile soils, and favourable temperatures.

Common Corn-acy

Dent corn: the most common type of corn. Contributes to 95% of all corn production in the US.
Sweet corn: grown in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Flint corn: grown where the season is too short for Dent corn. Flint is mainly made into oil as it is the most difficult to digest, and is most resistant to insect damage.
Flour corn: widely grown by American Indians.
Pop corn: expands with heating due to the moisture in each starch grain.
Pod corn: has little economic value, and each kernel is surrounded by husks.
Waxy corn: is used for fattening cattle as it yields a higher nutritional value over Dent corn. It was introduced from China about 100 years ago.

Uses for Corn: It’s not just for breakfast anymore

Corn is found in products from adhesives to crayons, chalk, food products such as licorice, ketchup, soft drinks, and beer and whiskey. It’s used in household products such as carpet, fiberglass, wallpaper, and insulation. It is also used in pesticides, fertilizers, and feed for livestock. For a more comprehensive list of the various uses for corn, one should go to the Ontario Corn Producers Association website www.ontariocorn.org/products.html

A cornucopia of corn culture

Corn has even made its way into the movies. It represented evil in the horror film Children of the Corn and all of the sequels. But more often than not, it’s associated with sustenance, symbolizing perseverance and the American dream as seen in Field of Dreams, where a lush cornfield plays a pivotal role in the creation of a mystical baseball field. This movie is the source of the memorable line, "If you build it, they will come."

Corn can be found in music culture as well. Korn is an American rock band that named themselves using the old Norse word. The Corn Sisters from Vancouver sing a sweet and juicy rendition of Hank Snow’s (and my personal favourite song) "Corn on the Cob" with such inspiring lyrics as "I always will request it/ even though I can’t digest it/ good lord I love corn on the cob." Words to live by.

Corn is also celebrated in many of the corn states. In South Dakota for instance, corn is a large part of their tourist industry. In the town of Mitchell lies the Russian-looking tourist attraction called the Corn Palace. The Corn Palace is open in the spring and summer, and every year the outside of the building is adorned with different types of corn. The Corn Palace is a place to learn about corn history, see corn art and visit a community that is based on the economics of corn. You can even visit the Corn Palace website at www.cornpalace.com

In many schools across the United States and Canada, children are taught aboutCorn as part of their curriculum. For instance, the Crazy about Corn webpage from La Cruces, New Mexico has a CD-ROM that is part of a National 4-H Curriculum project to help youth explore agriculture, literacy, nutrition, art, communication and horticulture. The Ontario Corn Producers Association also has programs that educate young children about the values of corn.

The United States has a travel and convention industry that has been brought about by the growing, harvesting and economics of corn. Every state in which corn is grown has its own association that people pay membership fees to belong to. Corn magazines and monthly newsletters are produced. There are people who live for corn. They either grow corn, or have a concern about corn, or they do scientific experiments with corn to find other uses for corn, and different kinds of corn.

Corn Secrets

One would think that corn just tastes good dripping with butter and salt, but it really does have some nutritional value. Corn is a carbohydrate, but it also contains folic acid, potassium, thiamin, magnesium and some Vitamin C. Above all, it is a good source of fiber if you could only digest it.

When picking your corn at the market, make sure you pick husks that are filled with kernels all the way up. You can feel it to make sure instead of opening it up. Make sure the ears that you buy have soft corn silks instead of dry, dark ones, and the husks should not be yellow.

Corn Mythology

There is even a myth that states if a woman sleeps on a bed of corn silks, the first man she thinks of in the morning will be her future husband.

Corn in the Kitchen

When boiling corns don’t salt the water or the kernels will harden and lose their flavour. And only boil the corn for one to three minutes to maximize the corn’s tastiness.

Tips on growing your own corn

Go to the Hydroponics Culture of Corn homepage at:www.carbon.org/classroom/survival/food/corn.htm