FOOD THAT IS HEALTHY AND HARMFUL (4) -MAIZE/ CORN

MAIZE/CORN

Corn, grilled corn, boiled corn, sweet corn, steamed corn, popcorn is one of the simplest purest pleasure. We use maize in very different form such as corn meal, corn starch, corn syrup, animal feed etc. It is the most abundant grain crop worldwide and is exceeded only by wheat as a cereal grain. However not all of this maize is consumed by humans. There are majorly six types of corn-

      

       1.     Dent corn

(It is grown in U.S and Canada field. Mostly used to make animal feed or processed into flour to make cereals.)

       2.    Flint corn

(Considered better than Dent corn and is used to make corn meal.)

       3.    Pod corn

(It is a wild variety of maize)

       4.    Pop corn

(It is small corn cob which expands and puffs when heated. It is a very popular snack food.)

       5.    Flour corn

(These corns has soft, starchy kernels that can be easily grounded into flour. We can make Indian flat bread or tortillas and many more.)

       6.    Sweet corn

(It is used in vegetable form. Consumed- grilled, boiled, steamed or even can be served fresh, frozen or canned.)

 Like every food let’s check out what corn has-

BENEFITS:-

·       Rich source of calories, vitamins and minerals. (contains folate, thiamine)

·       Good source of lutein. ( a powerful antioxidant)

·       Reduces cholesterol absorption in the body

·       Increases bone strength

·       Air-popped popcorn (without oil/butter) is low in calories

·       High in fiber.

DRAWBACKS-

·       Causes intestinal irritation.

·       Sweet corns may cause tooth decay as it contains good amount of sugar.

·       Causes bloating and flatulence.

·   It lacks two essential amino acids which are necessary to make it a complete protein.

HOW TO BUY:-

Easily available in market all over the world. Prefer to consume fresh corn however frozen corn can also be used.

·       Feel the kernels through the husk.

·       Make sure the husks are not dried. The husks should be green.

·       The corn that is full must have golden silks coming out from top. These silks are actually signal of how many kernels are there in the cob. More the silk more are the kernels.

STORAGE TIP:-

To preserve fresh corn you may store fresh kernels in air-tight containers.

We can consume corn in many forms- vegetable, salad, soup, bread, snacks and many more. Check out one such recipe made using corn and cheese-“CORN CHEESE BALLS”. 

For recipe click the link given below:-

https://cookpad.com/in/recipes/661914-cheese-corn-balls