Generality
Corn is a herbaceous plant belonging to the Poaceae family, Subfamily Panicoideae, Genus Zea, Species mays; its binomial nomenclature is therefore Zea mays.
Belonging to the family of Graminaceae (or Poaceae if you prefer), and producing seeds rich in starch, corn is fully included among the cereals, just like wheat, barley, rice, rye, oats, sorghum and millet (which belong to the Graminaceae family), but also as buckwheat, quinoa and amaranth (sometimes called pseudo-cereals because they belong to different families).
Corn is native to the American continent where the first crops seem to date back to the prehistoric era.
Some terms used in the common language completely overturn the correct botanical terminology; in fact, what is commonly referred to as corn cob (understood as the cob with edible seeds attached) is actually the ear; vice versa, the so-called "plume" or ear it is properly a corncob.
History
The first corn crops began to spread around 2,500 BC in Mesoamerica (a region of the American continent that includes the southern half of Mexico, the territories of Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize, the western part of Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica ).
The peoples who used the cultivation of maize (Olmecs and Maya) were already able to process the cereal in order to improve its nutritional content; in particular, through the process of nixtamalisation (cooking of corn with lime - calcium hydroxide), the natives compensated for the lack of niacin bioavailable (vit. PP or B3), avoiding the onset of the famous pellagra (nutritional deficiency disease of the same). In fact, in the natural seed of corn, niacin is present in a form NOT usable by the human organism.
Following the first contacts with the European peoples (15th-16th century AD), corn reached the Old Continent and subsequently also Africa and Asia.
The first major differentiation between the various types of corn is that between the seeds intended for human consumption and those for animal feed or for chemical processing. In America, corn is the most widespread crop; the annual productivity is 332,000,000 tons, of which 40% of the total is destined for the production of bio-gas (ethanol). Corn is also one of the plants most subject to genetic changes.
Etymology of the term "corn"
The word corn comes from the Spanish form of the noun coined by the Taino population: "maiz", later become"maize ".
Description
The cultivated maize plant reaches an average of 2.5m in height, while some wild varieties can reach 12m.
The stem (more correctly stem), also known as a stocco, is similar to a bamboo cane segmented by about 20 internodes. A leaf about 70-120cm long and up to 8 / 9cm wide starts from each node.
Corn is a monoecious plant that is, it has male and female flowers carried on the same plant but on two separate inflorescences (diclinic flowers).
- The female inflorescences are the spikes, consisting of a fibrous cob bound to the stem, covered with leaves. Attached to the cob (erroneously called cob) are the seeds (up to 600); inside, up to the vertex of the ears, appears a brownish tuft (stigma) commonly called "silk".
- At the apex of the plant there are the male inflorescences, or the cobs properly called (erroneously called ears).
Corn basically reproduces by anemophilia (dispersion of pollen with the wind), even if the range of action of each single plant is not very wide. The seeds are the same size as peas, with an external kernel fused to the pericarp; be blackish, gray-blue, purple, green, red, white and yellow in color.
Corn kernels are very rich in starch and fiber. Dried and ground they give rise to a raw flour; if refined, maizena (or corn starch) can be obtained from corn flour. Corn does NOT contain gluten and, if on the one hand it is allowed in the diet of celiacs, on the other it cannot be used individually for bread making. There are varieties of corn richer in simple sugars which are called "sweet corn". The small ears of sweet corn (which we remember being erroneously called cobs) can also be eaten raw; the large but still tender ones require short heat treatments, while the dry ones must undergo a very prolonged boiling.
Corn grows and reproduces successfully at temperatures above 10 ° C; it tolerates latitudes well with very long nocturnal periods and, thanks to the content in natural defensive molecules (2,4- dihydroxy - 7 - methoxy - 1, 4 - benzoxazin - 3-one - DIMBOA), it is particularly resistant to the attack of parasites On the other hand, corn does NOT tolerate drought and, especially in recent years, has been the subject of the worrying phenomenon of aflatoxins.
Genetics and widespread varieties of maize
The corn plant has a great polymorphism, especially evident in the weight, shape and color of the kernels. For this reason there are 8 groups, indicated as subspecies or sub-species, intended for many preparations: corn flour (var. amylacea), popcorn (var. everta), dent corn (var. indented), flint corn (var. hardened), sweet corn (var. saccharata and var. wrinkled), waxy maize (var. ceratin), corn pod (var. tunicata Larranaga ex. TO. St. Hil.) And striped corn (var. japonica). Currently, the classification of maize has become more detailed and articulated; it includes: forms, races, racial complexes and branches.
With the selection and the backcrossing it has been possible to obtain different varieties of corn, basically with bigger and bigger seeds. Much of the corn grown today is GMO (about 25 crops - 86% of US corn - 2010 - 32% of world corn in 2011); this is not always considered edible for humans and in the year 2,000, $ 50,000,000 of "Taco Bell" was withdrawn from the market because it contained traces of GMO corn unfit for human consumption.
Corn as food for man
Corn is a primary food source for humans. In Mexico, for example, cereal is present in every culinary preparation; they are typical dishes: tortillas, pozole, atole and all composites such as tacos, quesadillas, chilaquiles, enchiladas , tostadas etc. Also in Africa, corn has become the most important crop of the territory among cereals, while in Europe it is the basic constituent for polenta in Italy, angu in Brazil, Mamaliga in Romania etc.
Corn is also the essential raw material for the production of one of the oldest snacks: pop corn. Today fried corn (with salty and crunchy grains) is also available, while through an industrial process it becomes a typical breakfast food: corn flakes.
After fermentation and distillation, corn goes to make up Chicha and Chicha morada, an alcoholic drink very widespread in Peru.
Young or unripe corn, boiled or roasted, is eaten as a dish in its own right; sweet corn is sufficiently digestible even raw.
Corn oil, obtained from the "live" portion of the seeds, is very rich in ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Nutritional values of corn
Corn, in its various forms, has a function predominantly first course, single course or accompaniment (side dish or baked goods). Like all cereals, it has a predominantly energetic nutritional function. The macronutrients contained in greater quantities are carbohydrates, mainly simple in sweet corn, and complex in the other varieties. Corn flours and dry corn are foods with a very high energy value, since the water content is reduced to a minimum. The typical Italian corn flour-based preparation is polenta which, on the other hand, absorbs up to with 300% water, considerably lightening the glycemic load and the overall caloric intake. Corn flakes and popcorn have a chemical content comparable to that of simple corn flour, even if the latter, in the preparation, require the use of several fats for cooking. The corn starch corresponds to a super flour - purified from fibers, lipids and proteins.
The canned corn is the product which, due to its hydration, has the lowest energy intake compared to the others mentioned.
Corn does not contain many proteins which, based on the amino acid profile, are of medium biological value. Lipids are even more scarce, while dietary fiber is present mainly in the whole grain of the raw seed (raw corn and popcorn corn). Corn is obviously cholesterol-free.
From a saline point of view, corn contains decent amounts of potassium and good (considering that it is a cereal) portions of iron. As far as vitamins are concerned, the water-soluble thiamine (vit B1) and the less bioavailable niacin (vit PP) stand out. Small concentrations of equivalent retinol (vitamin A) are noted, while corn oil is rich in vitamin E.
Corn-based products are suitable for the diet of celiacs, as they do not contain gluten, but it should still be remembered that good portions of these foods bring high glycemic loads, not recommended in the diet against overweight and against type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Nutritional values
Nutritional composition per 100g of: Corn Flakes; Corn flour; Corn; Sweet corn, canned, drained; Starch corn; Pop Corn - Reference Values of Food Composition Tables - INRAN
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