Amazing Maize

I’m not at all reluctant to confess that I’m as “corny” as Doris and Mitzi. How about you, are you as “corny as Kansas” too?

Before I dive into the main course of this article, may I ask that you visit the YouTube website and listen to either or both of the following audio recordings listed below? The song is What A Wonderful Guy from the famous Rodgers & Hammerstein movie musical, South Pacific. In it, Mitzi Gaynor sang “I’m as corny as Kansas in August”…lalala etc. But, did you know that Doris Day sang the whimsical love song too? I prefer the latter version. You can make up your own mind. Mitzi sings it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcUEjKU7Qi8 – and here is Doris: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8SIcBydkcU&NR=1 . Just

copy/paste the URLs into a search engine blank. BELOW: My friend, Anita, and her corn patch.

If there was such a thing as a lovey-dovey theme song for Farmgirls, this song is Purrrr-fect. But, you might ask, “What does being corny really mean?” Ok, here ‘tiz … Corny: wholesome-ish but out-dated, light-hearted melodrama, hokey. Kansas is noted for its production of corn, and August would be harvest time for corn. So, “Nellie” was having fun with a double meaning for corny, playfully saying that she was like the state of Kansas … as corny as corny gets.

Confession: I’ve been guilty of thinking that corn plays “second fiddle” to pumpkins when it comes to Autumn imagery. Pumpkins are the glamor veggies of Fall, they get most of the paparazzi. But, you know what? That is just plain wrong. So, I’m going to make it up to my friends, the many kinds of corn that I so enjoy. It is time to set the record straight.

Corn, as we know it today, would not exist if it weren’t for the humans that cultivated and developed it. The kind of corn we’re familiar with is a human invention – a plant that does not exist naturally in the wild. It can only survive if planted and nurtured by people. Corn is perhaps the most completely domesticated of all field crops

Scientists believe people living in central Mexico developed corn from a wild cousin about 7,000 years ago. Corn was started from a wild grass called Teosinte (below). It looks very different from “our” corn, the kernels are few and very small and are not placed close together like kernels on the husked ear of modernday corn. The ear of blue corn below that a strand of Teosinte is sitting on is a variety called Hopi Blue and it is most commonly grown in New Mexico.

From Mexico, corn/maize spread north into the Southwestern United States and south down the coast to Peru. About 1,000 years ago, as Indian people migrated north to the eastern woodlands of present day North America, they brought corn with them.

When Europeans like Columbus made contact with people living in North and South America, corn played a key role in the diet of most native people. When Columbus “discovered” America, he also discovered corn. But up to this time, people living in Europe knew nothing of corn. At first, corn was only a garden curiosity in Europe, but it soon began to be recognized as a valuable food crop. Within a few years, it spread throughout France, Italy, and all of southeastern Europe and northern Africa. By 1575, it was making its way into western China, and had become important in the Philippines and the East Indies.

Corn was the most important cultivated plant in ancient times in the Americas. Early North American expeditions show that the corn‑growing area ex­tended from southern North Dakota and both sides of the lower St. Lawrence Valley. It extended west­ward to the middle of Kansas and Nebraska, and an important lobe of the Mexican area extended northward to Arizona, New Mexico and southern Colorado. The principal role of corn during the 19th century was closely tied to the development of the Midwest. In the movement westward, corn found a long-lasting home in the woodland clearings and grasslands of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. English and German settlers named corn after their generic term for an edible grass crop. They called it “Indian corn” to differentiate it from other grains.

It took awhile for corn to “take off”. But, when it did, the crop became a favorite on American menus and in our farm fields. It was not until the vast technological advances in the early 1940s that corn yields started to show significant yield increases. Today, more than 40% of the world’s corn is produced in the United States. Iowa is normally the leading corn producing state, followed closely by Illinois. Nowadays, Iowa farmers average about 145 bushels per acre on more than 12 million acres. Corn is as patriotic and “All American” as apple pie and maybe more so!! Below are some fun vintage images from the annuls of American corn history …

Horse-drawn corn planter.

Vintage paperback cookbook.

A restored corn crib shed.

Shawnee Pottery, a Zanesville, Ohio company, began producing whimsical items in 1937. If you’re a child of the ’30s, ’40s or ’50s, you may remember a vast variety of pieces of Shawnee’s corn inspired kitchenware lining the cupboard shelves. The pattern was called “Corn King”. It was very popular “back when” and today it is a “hot” antique collectible. My farmgirl pal, Lisa, is an avid collector.

Is there ANYthing with more aromatic appeal than fresh popcorn??!! The first popcorn making machines that some of you “vintage” farmgirls will remember seeing in movie theaters were specifically designed to blow the popcorn vapors into the air for the said purpose of selling popcorn. The aroma is edible temptation at its best. A movie theater without popcorn? Un-thinkable. I’ll bet there are farmgirls that leave their desk after they read this just to make a batch of buttery popcorn.

From the pages of Ladies Home Journal magazine, September 1919 …

Small towns all around America’s heartland celebrate the harvest with corn festivals. In Iowa, CORN IS KING and Iowa is the nation’s #1 corn producer, about half the farming land is devoted to just corn! Here is a water tower located in Minnesota – another state that grows a lot of corn. What a sight it must be when it is all lit up at night.

Now we’re into November, 2010. My favorite holiday is on deck. Thanksgiving – a time for a humble smile, the best kind of joy and sincere gratitude for all that we have. My favorite dish is scalloped corn, the way my Grandma Messersmith made it from dried sweet corn. When dry, the corn is the color of carmel candy. The first Thanksgiving was held in 1621. Sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie were not on the menu, however, Corn certainly was. The earliest settlers in America may very well have perished if Native Americans hadn’t introduced them to corn. The settlers were taught how to grow it by planting kernels in small holes with small fish and covering them up. The fish acted as fertilizer.

The Indians also shared their various ways of preparing corn, such as pounding it into meal to make cornbread, corn soup, corn cakes, and corn pudding. Corn was also used by the early settlers as money and to trade for meat and furs. The first governor of the Plymouth Colony, Governor William Bradford, said once “And sure it was God’s good providence that we found this corn, for we know not how else we should have done.” Corn earned a rightful place on millions of Thanksgiving dinner tables all over this great country.

What is truly amazing about “Maize” is its versatility and seemingly innumerable uses. Not even considering the culinary uses, the list is impressive. Indians wove corn husks into clothing, sleeping mats, baskets, and toys. Most of the corn grown in the United States and Canada is used as animal fodder (livestock). There are also many industrial uses of corn including ethanol, cosmetics, ink, glue, laundry starch, shoe polish, medicines, fabrics, and ornamental decor. Does anyone use a corncob pipe anymore? I imagine that St. Nick and Frosty The Snowman are #1 and #2 on the list of famous corncob pipe smokers.

In the lives of agricultural Native Americans, corn was as important as the Buffalo were to the Plains Indians. Corn was woven into the fabric of life for the “Aggie” Indians … every part of their lives … their stories, their religious beliefs, their songs, their ceremonies, their art, their utilitarian needs, their diet. Below: Navajo Corn Dance; the young woman portrays the Corn Maiden deity.

The Corn Maiden image figures prominently in jewelry made by southwestern Native Americans. She was a symbol of fertility and “plenty” and of the corn plant that was central in the lives of the Indian people. To the Hopi, the Blue Corn Maiden was thought to be the prettiest of the Corn Maiden sisters. Not only was she beautiful, she had a kind, gentle, and peace loving personality. Understandably, she was a symbol of happiness to the people of the Pueblos. From Turquoise, this pair of Corn Maiden sisters was intricately hand-carved into a fetish. Blue corn does have, in my opinion, more corn flavor and it really is blue!

Whole kernel corn that is soaked in a lye brine becomes what what we call hominy. If it is coarsely ground, southerners call it “Grits”. What would a southern breakfast be without grits? This dish was also handed down to us by Native Americans, who called it saqamite. Another delicious southwestern corn reliant food that many of us enjoy over the Christmas holidays are tamales. Years back, when I lived in New Mexico, I looked forward to buying several large bags of them at Christmas bazaars. Tamales freeze very well.

In the Native American garden of old, corn, squash and beans were known as the “Three Sisters” – sisters who should never be apart – sisters who should be planted together. This brings me to the next phase of this article … recipes from the corn patch. The first recipe comes from my friend, Connie, who is a fabulous cook.

Connie’s Corn Puddin’

1 two pound bag of frozen corn (thawed)

1 package of cream cheese

1/2 stick of butter

1 large egg

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 C milk

Soften the cream cheese and butter in MW oven until it is creamy. Combine all ingredients and pour into a greased casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until it bubbles and the top begins to look golden and has a thin crusty look.

Ok, next on the menu …

Blue Cornbread – a delicious representative of Southwestern cuisine and a very easy quick-bread. Use your favorite cornbread recipe and simply substitute blue cornmeal for yellow. However, blue cornmeal isn’t easy to find for most of us. I looked online and was delighted to find it via one of MaryJanesFarm magazine advertisers: Bob’s Red Mill. You might also be able to find BRM blue cornmeal at your favorite Health Food Store. Here is the link to buy it online: http://www.bobsredmill.com/blue-cornmeal.html **THIS TOO** … At the bottom of the web page where you can order BRM blue cornmeal, there are 12 blue cornmeal recipe links! Of course, you could use yellow cornmeal instead.

Now, here is an exotic variation on a theme …

Blue Corn Cake (with Blueberry sauce)