A sweet corn readme - all you dont know and want to know about sweet corn is here!

Hello, I'm sweet corn. I want to say something to you! Although I am very common, do you really know me?

I belong to the annual herb of Maize in Gramineae. I come from a huge family. My brothers and sisters include ordinary corn, silage corn, waxy corn, popcorn and bamboo shoot corn.

Origin of sweet corn

I come from South America. Most scientists believe that we evolved from ruminant grass.

As early as 7000 ~ 10000 years ago, humans began to domesticate us. Around 5000 BC, Indians began to plant and eat me.

In 1779, an expedition team brought back some sweet corn ears called "papoon" (milk, which means soft food and sweet taste) from American Indian farmland. From then on, I went out of the American continent and began the journey of conquering the world.

In my family, I belong to a young generation. Sweet corn has been widely cultivated in the world for only a hundred years. People still have a limited understanding of me. At the same time, there are many misunderstandings about me. Therefore, today I am here to introduce myself to you.

Characteristics of sweet corn

Why am I deeply loved by people? Because I'm not only really sweet, but also have an obvious fresh fruit taste when I eat raw, and the grains are crisp and tender. Fresh ears, cooked and eaten, are more palatable, with obvious sweet corn fragrance and high sweetness; The grain entrance is also crisp and tender, and the chewing taste is smooth and delicate; After eating, the breath is fragrant and has a long aftertaste.

Characteristics of sweet corn

According to the difference of sweetness, I am divided into three categories: ordinary sweet type, super sweet type and enhanced sweet type.

1. Ordinary sweet corn: the quick-frozen corn segment sold in KFC fast food restaurants is a kind of ordinary sweet corn called Jubilee. It is characterized by moderate sweetness, and the sweetness of water-soluble sugar is about 7%~9%.

2. Enhanced sweet corn: This is a type of sweet corn with polygenic effects. It can be felt that the sweetness is between ordinary sweet type and super sweet type, and the taste and taste are slightly better than ordinary sweet type.

3. Super sweet sweet corn: the sugars contained are monosaccharides and disaccharides that can be dissolved in water, such as sucrose, glucose, fructose and maltose, and the sweetness can be as high as 11%-15%. Moreover, the conversion of these sugars is very slow.

Super sweet sweet corn has been rapidly promoted since it appeared in the 1950s. At present, it is a sweet corn variety with large planting area and fast growth rate in the world. It can be said that because of the super sweet sweet corn, the real industrialization of sweet corn in the United States has been achieved, and the emerging industry of sweet corn has been vigorously developed all over the world.

Nutritional value of sweet corn

I am rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, C, minerals and free amino acids. It is easy for human body to digest and absorb. It is a new leisure health care nutritional food.

I am rich in fat, containing more than 60% linoleic acid, which can reduce the deposition of cholesterol, prevent the occurrence of diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction, and play an active role in the prevention and treatment of diabetes. Corn also contains glutathione, a recognized anti-cancer factor, which can combine with a variety of carcinogens in the human body to make it lose its carcinogenic ability, and then be eliminated from the body through the digestive tract.

1. Protein

The protein content of sweet corn grain is also higher, generally more than 13%, which is 3% - 4% higher than that of ordinary corn. Among them, there are mainly water-soluble proteins, and a small amount of alkali soluble proteins, alcohol soluble proteins and salt soluble proteins.

2. Amino acids

The total content of amino acids in sweet corn grains is higher, 23.20% and 12.70% higher than that of ordinary corn and waxy corn, respectively, which is equivalent to the lysine content level of high lysine corn. The total amount of eight kinds of essential amino acids for human body is also 23.50% and 6.60% higher than that of ordinary corn and waxy corn respectively, in which the lysine content is twice that of ordinary corn, while the tryptophan content is 16.30% and 26.60% lower than that of ordinary corn and waxy corn respectively.

3. Other nutrients

Sweet corn contains many vitamins, among which the content of vitamin C (VC) in sweet corn grain is generally 0.7 mg/100g, which is about twice that of ordinary corn; The content of nicotinic acid (VB ₃) is 0.22 mg/100g, while that of ordinary corn is only 0.093 mg/100g; The content of riboflavin (VB Ψ) is 1.70 mg/100g, while ordinary corn almost does not contain VB Ψ.

Fruit corn has a high content of cellulose, which can promote intestinal peristalsis, reduce the accumulation of toxic humus in the intestine, and effectively reduce the incidence rate of constipation, hemorrhoids, colon cancer and rectal cancer; In addition, the cellulose in corn can also prevent hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and many other diseases. Fruit corn is rich in vitamin E, which can prevent skin pigmentation and early wrinkle, and has a good effect of delaying aging.

Market demand

Commercialization began in the early 20th century. In the 1930s, they began to process and make cans. Since the 1940s, the United States has continuously expanded its planting area and gradually developed a large-scale processing industry. Among all vegetable crops, China's total output value ranks fourth in the market of fresh vegetable products and second in processed products. It is one of the important vegetable crops. The main producing areas are the United States, Canada, Europe, China, Japan and Taiwan, China, while the consumer countries are the United States, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan Province of China.

Our production in China started late, but grew rapidly. In the mid-1980s, we began to process cans, mainly in coastal cities such as Shanghai and Dalian. With the domestic people's living standard developing towards a well-off and affluent type, my related products are more and more loved by people. In addition, with the development of corn deep processing enterprises, the demand for me is also increasing.

Our processing added value is also very high, and the economic benefits are significant. For example, the industrial added value of sweet corn in the United States can reach 300% - 400%. Due to my early harvest time, the stems and leaves after harvest are rich in nutrients, which can be used as high-quality feed for animal husbandry. Feeding cows with my stems and leaves can increase the milk yield by more than 10% compared with feeding green grass.

It can be seen that I am a kind of high-quality fruit and vegetable with less investment, quick effect and good market prospect.

Eating methods of sweet corn

(1) The fresh ears of sweet corn are directly sold through supermarkets or farmers' markets after harvest. This is a simple consumption method with good taste quality and large consumption. This sales method can be used for several types of sweet corn, such as common sweet, enhanced sweet and super sweet.

(2) Low temperature fresh-keeping seeds. The seeds after cutting and cleaning are refrigerated and sold at a low temperature of 0 ℃ ~5 ℃, mainly for household consumption. It is characterized by good preservation effect and convenient use, but the shelf life is only 3-5 days. Generally, super sweet varieties have good preservation effect.

(3) Canned sweet corn. Canned products processed from sweet corn seeds include whole grain and paste. It can be eaten immediately after opening cans, and can also be re cooked and processed for consumption by families and catering industries. Generally, there are many super sweet varieties.

(4) Quick frozen sweet corn kernels are mainly used as processing materials for large catering industries and food processing enterprises. According to the requirements of raw materials, several types of sweet corn can be used for processing.

(5) Quick frozen sweet corn ears are mostly used in the catering industry, such as the sweet corn section in KFC fast food restaurants. Generally, common sweet and some enhanced sweet varieties are used, and the processing of super sweet varieties is more difficult.

(6) Quick frozen dehydrated sweet corn kernels is a new product rising in the United States in recent years. Its cost is high, but its taste is very good. The market of this high-end snack is limited, and it is mostly aimed at children and high consumption families. Generally, super sweet varieties are used for processing.

(7) The fresh-keeping period of vacuum fresh-keeping fruit ears can reach 18 months, and the fresh-keeping effect is good. It is mainly aimed at families and instant consumption, and there is a lot of room for development. Several types of sweet corn can be used for processing.

(8) Vacuum fresh-keeping seeds are basically close to canned sweet corn products, and the fresh-keeping period is 18 months. Because its cost is much lower than that of canned products, it is expected to occupy part of the canned market, enter the household, catering industry and food processing industry, and have a broad market development space.

(9) Sweet corn beverage has simple processing technology and low cost; The product has clear appearance, pleasant taste and rich nutrition. It is a product with huge potential market.

Questions about sweet corn

Is such sweet corn genetically modified corn?

With the development and popularization of genetically modified technology, many consumers still talk about "genetically modified" discoloration. Therefore, I am so sweet and charming that I will inevitably be questioned by everyone: is such sweet corn genetically modified corn?

In fact, you don't have to worry. The reason why I'm so sweet is that in the process of evolution, a series of mutations occurred in endosperm, including sh1, SH2, SH4, BT1, BT2, SU1 and su2, double recessive aelwx1 and multi recessive aeldulwx1 (ADX), which blocked the conversion of some reducing sugars to starch, resulting in a relatively high content of water-soluble polysaccharides in endosperm, giving me a variety of different sweet flavors.

The current sweet corn varieties are new sweet corn varieties developed through traditional breeding techniques - breeding inbred lines and cross breeding based on naturally mutated sweet corn varieties, which are not the products of transgenic.

Is the colorful sweet corn genetically modified? Is it dyed?

There are many colors of me in the market. People begin to worry about whether such colorful corn is genetically modified? Can it be dyed? In fact, it's not. This rich color is also a gift from nature, not artificial intervention. Different colors are caused by different gene mutations, and there are also great differences in nutrition.

Purple corn contains anthocyanins, which are strong antioxidants. They are soluble in water and insoluble in oil, and are very easy to be absorbed by the human body. Anthocyanins have the effects of delaying aging, protecting vision, inhibiting allergy and controlling blood glucose.

Yellow corn contains lutein and zeaxanthin. Zeaxanthin can prevent diabetes macular degeneration and delay the aging of eyes.

The content of anthocyanins, zeaxanthin and lutein in white corn is low, but the content of sugar, starch and potassium is not affected. That is to say, it has the nutritional value of ordinary corn.

Can't diabetics eat sweet corn?

I have a unique internal composition and nutritional structure. Although my sugar content is relatively high, the total amount of sugar and starch is smaller than that of waxy corn.

Scientists have found that my sugar rising rate is basically the same as that of some vegetables and fruits, lower than that of traditional staple grains such as rice and noodles. Therefore, I am a hypoglycemic food that tastes sweeter. If diabetes patients take me as their staple food to replace some refined rice and white flour, it is good for controlling blood sugar. Of course, they can't eat it without restrictions.

How to choose and store sweet corn?

The fresh green bracts can reflect whether I am fresh and tender. After peeling off the bracts, the grains are complete and arranged neatly. Pressing with my fingernails, there is white milk like substance exuding. In this way, I am fresh and tender with good flavor.

Under high temperature, the sugar in my body will be converted into starch, and the water content will be significantly reduced. The taste is not as good as fresh food, so I will be kept in a cool and dry place. To enjoy the good flavor of corn, buy it the same day and eat it the same day. You can also put the ear with the skin into a plastic bag and store it in the refrigerator, but you should also eat it as soon as possible~