Corn is a grain crop with a high content of proteins, vitamins and other substances useful for the body. Grains are eaten by people and animals, only people prefer tender and sweet ones, and animals are given those that are tougher, less sweet. Feed corn is grown on an industrial scale for the production of feed, sold in bulk. But food is often grown in summer cottages and household plots for their own consumption. City dwellers in the market often think about how to distinguish between fodder corn and food corn, because sellers can not always be trusted.
Where grows
Corn occupies a very important place in our diet: starch, butter, molasses, flour are made from grains. But most – two-thirds of the total harvest goes to feed livestock. Various compound feeds are made from it on an industrial scale, they are kept in households all winter, it becomes the basis of pet food. The culture is so popular that it is grown everywhere from the subtropics to Scandinavia.
Fodder corn is not capricious at all, it is very hardy, it is much more widespread because it has no prejudice against a night drop in temperature. But the food one is afraid of the cold, so it prefers more southern regions. She needs for normal growth and maturation, so that during the day the temperature stays around +27 degrees, and at night it does not fall below +14.
Central and South America is considered the birthplace of corn – hence the preference for moisture and warmth. But breeders have done a great job of breeding early-ripening, cold-resistant varieties and hybrids so that today even in the northern regions this grain crop can be grown. But this applies primarily to fodder varieties, from which compound feed is made.
Varieties of sweet food corn are grown on light but nutritious loamy, sandy or sandy soils with good moisture. She needs warmth for the entire growing season, especially during maturation.
Appearance
Food corn forms short plump cobs of light beige color. And the stern looks much brighter, more beautiful – the cobs are long, the grains are bright, yellow or orange. Therefore, a cursory examination is enough to figure out what kind of corn is in front of you.
But if this is not enough, you need to try by touch – pick up a grain, press it with your fingernail. If the grain splashed with light juice, you can safely buy cobs and cook at home for no longer than 30 minutes, some varieties – even just 10 minutes until cooked.
Forage varieties are much closer to their wild ancestor, forming hard, fleshy grains covered with a hard shell. When pressed, the skin can wrinkle, under the pressure of the nail, even if the hard, strong skin bursts, the flesh will open, but the juice will not flow, and even more so it will not splash.
Palatability
If the market fails to distinguish food corn by appearance alone, then you can simply taste the grain. Food is much sweeter and tastier than its feed sister, the texture is softer and more watery (juicier). Nothing bad will happen if you eat raw grains, they do not contain harmful substances, they are just much rougher than boiled ones, it will be more difficult for the stomach to process them.
The nutritional value of boiled food corn is 180 kcal per 100 g, it is very rich in protein. And 100 g of fodder boiled corn contains 120 kcal.
In general, any corn is very useful, it contains a huge amount of vitamins: vitamins A, PP, group B, E. So, it will not be harmful to eat the one that goes to feed livestock – the body will be enriched with microelements and dietary fiber. But the taste of food varieties is very different due to the presence of monosaccharides and disaccharides, it is they who make the grains so tasty and sweet.
Using
Corn is a unique plant in terms of breadth of use. Flour, cereals, molasses, starch are made from its fruits, used for the production of beer and alcohol. Do not forget that paper, viscose, insulating films, linoleum, even film is made from its stems, cobs, covering leaves. Everyone knows that medicine uses corn stigmas to treat kidney stones, stimulate the liver, kidneys and gallbladder. In addition, feed for livestock is made from corn.
Feed corn is perfectly stored in specially equipped premises, from where agricultural enterprises sell it for the production of oil or compound feed to everyone.
Food varieties are not subject to long-term storage, they are grown specifically for culinary purposes and are processed very quickly.
Those who grow food corn on their own plots or buy it in the market boil it for several days. You can save it only by freezing or canning.
If it suddenly occurs to someone to put sweet corn on feed, then this can also be done immediately after harvesting. But this is unlikely, because its production is more expensive than forage. It is her that we buy all year for salads and side dishes, carry expensive cans home and enjoy her sweet delicate taste.
Video “How to choose corn”
In this video, you will find out by what signs on the market you can accurately distinguish delicious sugar cobs from fodder ones.
