Sweet corn (Zea mays var. rugosa), also called sweetcorn, sugar corn, or simply corn, is a variety of maize with a high sugar content. Sweet corn is the result of a naturally-occurring recessive mutation in the genes which control conversion of sugar to starch inside the endosperm of the corn kernel. Unlike field corn varieties, which are harvested when the kernels are dry and fully mature, sweet corn is picked when immature and eaten as a vegetable, rather than a grain. Since the process of maturation involves converting sugar into starch, sweet corn stores poorly and must be eaten, canned, or frozen before the kernels become tough and starchy.
When Columbus "discovered" America, there was no corn on board the Nina, Pinta or Santa Maria. Before 1492, no one living in Europe ate corn cakes, corn bread or corn pudding. They didn't know corn existed. Up to this time, corn grew only in the Americas. Scientists believe corn was originally cultivated by Indians in the highlands of Mexico thousands of years ago. The Indians discovered that corn was good to eat and very nutritious.
Corn grows in warm weather and usually matures in late summer. The stalks can grow between three feet (one meter) and 20 feet (six meters) tall, depending upon the cultivar. At one point, there were thousands of varieties of corn in production, but these numbers have since dwindled to less than one hundred hardy, predictable varieties with large fleshy kernels. Corn grows in ears, tight clusters of kernels around a central core or cob that is covered in a leafy husk. Corn has been bred in such a way that it has difficulty reproducing without human assistance, thanks to this husk.
Corn is 97 percent planted, which is just 2 percent behind last year and 3 percent behind the five-year average. Corn is 77 percent emerged, which is 14 percentage points behind last year and 16 percentage points behind the five-year average. Corn condition rated 1 percent very poor, 4 percent poor, 29 percent fair, 55 percent good, and 11 percent excellent. First cutting of hay was 8 percent.
Health Benefits
Hot, fresh corn-on-the-cob is an almost essential part of any summertime party. Fortunately, it is also worthy part of any healthful menu. Our food ranking system qualified corn as a good source of many nutrients including thiamin (vitamin B1), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), folate, dietary fiber, vitamin C, phosphorus and manganese.
Corn for Cardiovascular Health
Corn's contribution to heart health lies not just in its fiber, but in the significant amounts of folate that corn supplies.
Folate, which you may know about as a B-vitamin needed to prevent birth defects, also helps to lower levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that is an intermediate product in an important metabolic process called the methylation cycle. Homocysteine can directly damage blood vessels, so elevated blood levels of this dangerous molecule are an independent risk factor for heart attack, stroke, or peripheral vascular disease, and are found in between 20-40% of patients with heart disease. It has been estimated that consumption of 100% of the daily value (DV) of folate would, by itself, reduce the number of heart attacks suffered by Americans each year by 10%. Folate-rich diets are also associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer. A cup of corn supplies 19.0% of the DV for folate
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