What Europeans call maize or sweetcorn is known in North America simply as corn, and that's what I'm going to talk about here. Corn, a member of the grass family, is the only important cereal native to the New World. Today corn grows on tall stalks with long flat leaves; tucked here and there in the leaves are long torpedo-shaped ears of corn, each of which is encased in a green husk with delicate threads of cornsilk visible at the tips. Strip back the husk and you'll find a cob covered with rows of corn kernels, usually yellow or white, but sometimes also blue, red, brown, or purple.

The origins of corn lie far back in prehistory; recognizable fossilized specimens that are thousands of years old have been found in Mexico. In those ancient times each cob was puny, with just a few kernels on it, and the plant overall was much shorter than the towering plumes of today. Over time, the native populations of Mexico and Guatemala domesticated corn, interbreeding it with the grass teosinte, gradually developing higher-yielding varieties that would be more recognizable to modern eyes. (First Nations people also domesticated squash and beans; collectively, these important food sources are known as the Three Sisters.) From its Latin American roots corn spread throughout the new world and was used by people ranging from modern Canada all the way down to modern Argentina. When Jacques Cartier visited Hochelaga - now Montreal - in 1535, he found a village surrounded by huge corn fields. (Europeans call all grain corn, and distinguished this one from the others by using the moniker Indian corn. The term maize apparently came to us from Christopher Columbus, who was taught it by the first people he encountered in the new world, the Tahino; they called their staple crop something like mahis.)

Today corn grows throughout the Americas as well as in Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is one of the most adaptable grasses known, thriving equally well in the tropics and the northern temperate zone and from sea level to 12,000 feet in altitude. It has growing periods (planting to maturity) extending from 6 weeks to 13 months.

North American First Nations developed the major classes of corn - sweet, popping, flint, flour, and dent - that we still recognize today:

  • Sweet corn is the stuff you're probably eating if you eat corn on the cob. Modern cultivars of corn in fact contain far more sugar than they did even ten years ago and much more than a century ago, and corn keeps getting sweeter. This is because the sugars in corn become starchy as soon as the ear is picked; sweeter corn will maintain its sweet non-starchy character longer when shipped and stored for sale in supermarkets.
  • Popcorn is basically small-kerneled flint corn; it's among the most primitive of the surviving races of corn. Popcorn kernel has a very hard endosperm and a small bit of soft starch; it's dried at a low heat to yield hard kernels ready for popping.
  • Flint corn has a larger kernel with relatively little flour tissue in the endosperm.
  • Flour corn is soft, floury and breaks apart easily.
  • Dent corn is a cross between flint and flour corn and yields high grain, so it is the most grown type of corn. It has a floury internal portion which shrinks and a hard outer portion which doesn't, producing the characteristic dent of the kernel. It's used for wet grinding and making grits and hominy.

All parts of the corn plant are used by people: the kernels of course are prized food; the husks are used as coverings for steamed food such as tamales; the silk makes a diuretic tea; the cobs and stalks are used as fodder. Corn is utilized in the making of a host of products such as bourbon, corn flour, cornmeal, corn oil, corn starch, corn whiskey, cornstarch, and laundry starch

In North America corn is now available all year round, but it'll be most delicious in summer, freshly picked. Look for large ears with bright green snugly fitting husks and golden brown silk. The kernels should be plump, not dry, and come all the way up to the tip of the ear; they should be tightly packed together. Ideally, eat your fresh corn within a day, stripping off the husks and silk just before cooking.

Fresh corn is best enjoyed plunged for no more than a minute in a large pot of boiling water, or up to 2 minutes if you like it a bit softer. Or remove the kernels by holding the cob upright with its bottom end on the counter and running a sharp knife down the cob, removing 3 or 4 rows at a time. They tend to fly around the kitchen, so be sure you're not holding the cob at the edge of your counter. Fresh corn can be eaten raw in salads or lightly sauteed in a little butter and seasoned with salt, pepper, and perhaps a little fresh basil chiffonade. Or, reproduce a popular Thai street food in your own backyard! Soak whole ears of corn, husks and all, in salted water for an hour or so, then barbecue, turning frequently, till hot and aromatic. Peel back the husk (carefully: it's hot) and eat; delicious!

Incidentally, there is a soft black fungus that grows on corn which is known as smut. Though North Americans shun smut, it apparently has a sweet earthy flavour and creamy texture much prized by Mexicans (who call it huitlacoche) and Europeans.

Want to know all about corn? Go to Corn Connection (www.ontariocorn.org/CornConnection/index.shtml) and start exploring!