Suggested uses

Basic prep

Storage & handling

Store in a dry, cool place.

Ingredients

Dried corn.

Known globally as maize, corn is the only grain whose origin can be traced to the Americas. Scientists believe that the people of central Mexico developed corn from the indigenous wild grass teosinte at least 7,000 years ago. Corn spread north into the present-day southwestern United States and south as far as Peru.

When Christopher Columbus landed in modern day Cuba, some of his crew went inland and came across maize being cultivated by Native Americans. It's unclear whether corn was brought back to Europe after Columbus's first or second voyage, but by the early 16th century it was being cultivated on the continent.

Today the United States produces about 40% of the world's corn crop, on about 90 million acres of planted land. Most of the corn grown in the United States comes from the Midwest region. Of the corn grown in the United States, the largest percentage is used as feed for livestock, with smaller percentages being used for ethanol production, food and seed, distilling and export.

Numerous varieties of corn are cultivated today, including sweet, dent, flint and popcorn, and corn comes in various colors, ranging from yellow and white to red, purple and blue. In addition to being eaten whole, corn kernels are frequently ground and processed to make products such as cornmeal, cornstarch and masa harina. Corn has an incredibly long shelf life. Archeologists who discovered 1,000-year-old corn kernels were able to get them to pop!

The average American consumes about 4.85 bushels of corn in a year, which means they are getting high levels of fiber, folate, thiamin, phosphorus, vitamin C and magnesium.