Sweet corn
| Sweet corn | |
|---|---|
Husked sweet corn | |
| Species | Zea mays convar. saccharata var. rugosa |
| Origin | United States |
Sweet corn (Zea mays convar. saccharata var. rugosa),[1] also called sweetcorn, sugar corn and pole corn, is a variety of maize grown for human consumption with a relatively 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. Sweet corn is picked when still immature (the milk stage) and prepared and eaten as a vegetable, unlike field corn, which is harvested when the kernels are dry and mature (dent stage).[2] Since the process of maturation involves converting sugar to starch, sweet corn stores poorly and must be eaten fresh, canned, or frozen, before the kernels become tough and starchy.
It is one of the six major types of corn, the others being dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, and flour corn.[3]
- ^ Erwin, A. T. (July 1951). "Sweet Corn—Mutant or historic species?". Economic Botany. 5 (3). Springer New York: 302. Bibcode:1951EcBot...5..302E. doi:10.1007/bf02985153. S2CID 28127396.
- ^ "Corn". NewCROP, New Crop Resource Online Program, Purdue University. 18 February 1999.
- ^ Linda Campbell Franklin, "Corn," in Andrew F. Smith (ed.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013 (pp. 551–558), p. 553.