There are several types of corn based on region, production as usage which are listed in this article. Corn also is a fruit of maize a cereal grain first cultivated by native people of southern Mexico about a decade of 1000 years ago. Corn has become a general food in many parts of the world. The total production of corn has left behind that of wheat or rice. The rate of production of corn is increased every year.
Different Types of Corn Usage
In addition to being eaten up directly by humans, corn is also used as an animal diet and others, such as corn starch which is used as common ingredients in-home cooking and many industrialized food products and corn syrup.
While field corn is used widely in animals feed, various corn-based human food uses including cornmeal or masa, cornflour, and extraction of oil from corn, and fermentation and distillation into alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey.
Cornstarch can be hydrolyzed and used enzymatically to produce syrups—exceptionally high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener; and also fermented and distilled to produce corn alcohol. Corn flour is widely used in making cornbread and other bakery products.
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Region of production
It is cultivated extensively all over the world, and a greater quantity of it is harvested in each year than any other grain. But the most massive production of different types of corn is recorded in the U.S. Right now the US is the largest exporter and producer country of corn.
Sugar rich type called sweet corn is usually harvested for social expenditure as kernels.
The six major types of corn are:
- Sweet corn
- Dent corn
- Popcorn
- Flint corn
- Flour corn
- Pod corn.
Types Of Corn
You might be in a thought that all corn is the same, but it’s not. If you try to pop field corn, it will not pop. Similarly, if you try to chew flint corn would almost break your jaw. So, every variety of corn has it’s own quality and uses.
Dent Corn
Kernel: Similar to their name there is a dent on each crown of the grain. These are easy to be a spot in the overall production Another like sweet one and can’t be eaten fresh.
Uses: The area of there use is mostly industrial as a grain in the production of snacks, masa other products. They are also used in animal feed. They are widely used in making alcoholic beverages.
Region of production: The majority of dent corn is produced in the U.S. dent corn is harvested when the fruit is fully matured when the kernels are mostly dry and hard.
Sweet Corn
Sweet corn as their named are sweet due to the presence of more sugar content than starch.
Kernel: They are harvested in the immature stage when seeds are young and tender, and before the chances of sugar to turn into starch this is what is called the “milk stage” that why you get that creaminess while eating sweet corn.
Uses: This is the variety that is desirable to be eaten fresh. We used to eat sweet corn as a meal like in breakfast or lunch and dinner as well as an appetizer. There is no wrong time to eat fresh corn.
Flint Corn
Flint corn is also known as calico corn. They are similar to dent corn; they also have hard outer shell covering.
Structure of kernel: They are identified by their wide range of colours, they have very high nutritional value. Their seeds are dried to the extent that some moisture is still left in there so when they are heated this moisture turns it to steam and causes the kernel to come out or pop.
Uses: They are also used for ornamental purposes in North America during harvest time because of their beautiful colours .when the grains are dried; they are used for several corn-based products. And also for cornmeal including corn flour, hominy, and polenta.
Region of production: They are mostly grown in central and southern areas of America.
Pop Corn
Structure: Popcorn is a kind of flint corn, but they have their size, shape, sugar levels, moisture, and starch content.
They have a hard shell covering and soft starchy interior. So when they come to heat the internal moisture makes enough pressure to explode it up and make them pop. Unlike other corn, they have their taste.
Uses: They are mostly used as snacks or eaten up boiled in any meal.
Region of production: Most of the popcorn grown the United States Of America.
Pod Corn
Structure: Pod corn has an impressive appearance that has astonished naturalists for two centuries. In this variety of corn, the kernels are enfolded in a husk which looks like fine paper in their dried form and appears leaf wrap.
History: Pod corn had a ritual significance for some indigenous American tribes and can therefore be found everywhere on the American continent.
The putative significance of pod corn for the domestication of corn has long been a matter of controversy. Some scientists believed pod corn to be a wild, a forerunner of the varieties with naked kernels standard today.
Uses: It is also used for ornamental purposes. It is not grown commercially. They are generally used as ingredients in cornmeal and a product like tacos and chips. They are used for decoration during the harvest season in a field.
Flour Corn
Flour corn is used in making corn flour and corn starch.
Structure: They have hard outer coverings shell and soft starchy from inside. They have a wide range of production, are found in white or light yellow colours.
