Nothing beats a warm and sunny day than sitting down at a picnic table and sinking your teeth into juicy corn and cob. Once you taste the goodness of this treat, it is worth getting annoying bits of corn stuck in your teeth as it is part of the experience. So who do we thank for this vegetable?
Scientists believe that people living in central Mexico started harvesting corn 7,000 years ago. The crop, also called maize, eventually spread to Native American tribes in the southwestern United States, and it eventually became a dietary staple.
There are many different types of corn. The most common types are flint corn, sweet corn, and dent corn. Flint corn has a hard outer shell, commonly used to make popcorn. Popcorn is made when the moisture inside the hard shell creates steam causing enough pressure for the kernel to explode. Sweet corn is the type you eat on the cob and dent corn is used for animal feed.
Image featured in August 21, 1917 Perth Amboy Evening News.
The image below, featured in September 24, 1910 Perth Amboy Evening News ,shows a woman enjoying a nice corn on the cob. Some people go to great lengths to say that the only way to politely eat corn is alone in a room. Other people wonder if there are ways to politely eat corn while still enjoying it in the company of others. One way to facilitate the eating process is to place corn stabs, or forks, on either end of the corn to prevent one’s hands from getting messy. Quite clever indeed!
This image, featured in August 21, 1917 Perth Amboy Evening News, shows different preservation methods used to preserve corn for the winter by ways of salting and drying. Also includes a recipe to make corn relish.
What are you waiting for? It is time to get corny!
(Contributed by Kristi Chanda)
Source:
The Story of Corn – History Detective – In the Beginning, www.campsilos.org/mod3/students/c_history.shtml#:~:text=Scientists%20believe%20people%20living%20in,husked%20ear%20of%20modern%20corn.