When most individuals consider corn, candy corn involves thoughts—the contemporary corn on the cob we prefer to boil or grill and slather with butter. Nevertheless, of the over 90 million acres of corn planted within the US, candy corn makes up lower than 1% of the whole crop. The remainder is starchy and dry subject corn, which is generally used to feed cows.

Indigenous peoples initially cultivated corn’s wild ancestor, teosinte, over 9,000 years in the past in what’s now Mexico. That corn, known as maize, was extra much like subject corn, as candy corn wasn’t cultivated till the mid-1700s.  The revered and versatile crop formed the area’s culinary panorama and performed a pivotal position within the historical past and improvement of North America.

Corn is a serious agricultural commodity used extensively for livestock feed, biofuels, and meals merchandise. In line with the Middle for Meals Security, roughly 75% of processed meals on grocery store cabinets include some type of genetically engineered substances, and corn is a big a part of this statistic attributable to its widespread use in numerous kinds comparable to high-fructose corn syrup, corn starch, and corn oil​.

Although candy corn and subject corn are associated, they aren’t the identical. Candy corn and subject corn are two distinct sorts of corn that differ in a number of features, together with their objective, taste, texture, and cultivation practices. To study extra concerning the distinction between the 2, I spoke with Dave Smoke-McCluskey, a Mohawk chef and proprietor of Corn Mafia, a micro-milling mission that explores native foodways. 

What Is Candy Corn?

The contemporary corn we get pleasure from grilled at cookouts and seize canned or frozen on the grocery retailer is good corn, which carries a gene that develops twice as a lot sugar as starchy sorts. “This corn has numerous pure sugars that make it pleasant to eat straight off the cob or in quite a lot of dishes, like creamed corn,” says Smoke-McCluskey. Mexican and American cuisines (particularly Southern) make use of candy corn in lots of dishes, together with elote, corn chowder, and succotash.

Candy corn is harvested in the summertime whereas the kernels are nonetheless tender and juicy, earlier than the sugar turns into starch. Smoke-McCluskey explains that candy corn of the previous had unstable sugar ranges that transformed into starch quickly after harvest. “You needed to eat it instantly, and it tasted fairly unhealthy by the point it received to the grocery store,” he says. “Candy corn breeders have genetically modified as we speak’s corn to supply a lot increased sugar ranges and make it in order that the conversion of sugar to starch happens a lot slower,” which is a observe that started within the late Sixties. This longer shelf life means super-sweet varieties keep candy for as much as 10 days after harvest.

Candy corn is on the market in white, mild yellow, and bicolored varieties, however Smoke-McCluskey says there isn’t a lot of a discernible distinction in taste. “They’re all candy and scrumptious.”

Mexican
Elotes (Grilled Mexican Avenue Corn)

cook dinner time:


45 minutes

serves:


4

When purchasing in your candy corn recipes on the grocery retailer or farmers market, he says to search for ears with contemporary, inexperienced leaves however brown silks on the prime—an indication that the corn was ripe when picked. The silk inside ought to nonetheless be smooth and the kernels must be plump, not shriveled, although peeling again the husk to verify the kernels understandably aggravates many corn distributors, so we do not advocate this. Ideally, you possibly can belief your vendor and know that the corn was harvested at its peak, however you can too really feel for the complete kernels by the husk.

Should you’re rising your personal candy corn and do not thoughts poking a gap in a kernel, you possibly can inform it is prepared when you puncture a kernel and milk comes out. If the juice is evident, it’s too early; if there’s no juice, it’s too late. Reduce it when the time is correct as a result of corn would not proceed to ripen off the stalk.

Professional tip: In case your candy corn is previous its prime, Smoke-McCluskey says you possibly can soak the cobs in sugar water (1/2 cup of white sugar per gallon of water) for a few hours to plump them again up.

What Is Area Corn?

Area corn can confer with any starchy selection, however most subject corn within the US is dent corn, which will get its identify from the dimple on the finish of every kernel that kinds because it dries out. 

Though subject corn kernels begin out smooth like candy corn, this selection is left to dry on the stalks within the subject earlier than harvesting within the fall as soon as a lot of its sugar content material has transformed into starch, that means it’s not candy and juicy. And also you gained’t see any subject corn on the grocery retailer.

“Should you seize an ear of subject corn and take a chunk, you may most likely chip a tooth,” says Smoke-McCluskey. About 40% of US dent corn is used as a feed grain for livestock, in line with the USDA. A lot of the relaxation is funneled into making ethanol gas, whereas a small portion is milled to make meals and drinks, comparable to cereal, tortilla chips, whiskey, and grits. 

The kernels of business subject corn are sometimes a deep yellow-orange, known as “yellow gold.” Nevertheless, heirloom varieties have kernels that span the colours of the rainbow. 

Bread
Straightforward Nixtamalized Corn Tortillas

Smoke-McCluskey likes to nixtamalize many sorts of subject corn to make hominy. Nixtamalization, a.ok.a. lyeing and washing, is a course of through which subject corn is boiled in water and hardwood ash, says Smoke-McCluskey. “The alkaline high quality of the combination softens the kernels sufficient to peel off their robust outer hull, making the corn extra digestible and its dietary advantages extra bioavailable.” 

Among the many Mohawk individuals of the Northeast, lyed corn is utilized in soups, stews, grits, mush, and cornbread. Smoke-McCluskey works with seed savers and growers, comparable to The Congaree Milling Firm, to nixtamalize and coarsely grind hominy grits on the market to cooks and specialty shops. In Mexican delicacies, the nixtamalized combination is floor into masa for tamales and tortillas.

Different Styles of Corn

A lot of the United States grows the very same number of corn from one seed, from one firm. We’re not going to get into that right here, however there are nonetheless many different flavors and nuances in numerous sorts of corn to be discovered, together with indigenous subject, flour, and flint varieties which might be as scrumptious and nutrition-dense as they’re stunning. 

The Takeaway

Candy corn is cultivated and harvested for its sweetness and tenderness, making it preferrred for direct human consumption—comparable to boiling for corn on the cob or turning into chowder. In the meantime, subject corn is grown for its excessive starch content material and flexibility. As a consequence of its robust texture and decrease sugar content material, it’s not sometimes consumed contemporary however is often used as animal feed and in ethanol manufacturing. Additionally it is nixtamalized and used to make masa, grits, mush, and cornbread.