June 11 of each year is the day to celebrate National Corn on the Cob Day. Fresh corn on the cob is a summertime treat that people from all corners of the United States look forward to as we start the picnic season.
- Corn on the cob is also known in different regions as pole corn, cornstick, sweet pole, butter-pop or long maize. It is a sweet corn that is picked when the kernels are still tender when it’s in its milk stage.
- Proper dinner etiquette for eating corn says it is appropriate to hold the cob at each end with your fingers.
- The history of Corn On The Cob Day goes back to a time before European Settlers actually came to America. Corn is a new world plant that has become an important staple in dishes all over the world, and the by-products of it have been used in quite literally millions of different products.
- In the America’s High Fructose Corn Syrup is found in almost every candy, and certainly, in every carbonated beverage you can imagine.
- Corn is a cereal crop that is part of the grass family.
- An ear or cob of corn is actually part of the flower and an individual kernel is a seed.
- On average an ear of corn has 800 kernels in 16 rows. Corn will always have an even number of rows on each cob.
- Corn and its by products are also found in many non-food items such as fireworks, rust preventatives, glue, paint, dyes, laundry detergent, soap, aspirin, antibiotics, paint, shoe polish, ink, cosmetics, the manufacturing of photographic film, and in the production of plastics.
- Corn can be produced in various colors including blackish, bluish-gray, purple, green, red, white and the most common yellow.
- Corn is also used to produce ethanol (ethyl alcohol), a first generation liquid biofuel.
- Corn was first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern
Mexico about 10,000 years ago. - There are 86 calories in 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of corn
- Health benefits of corn include controlling diabetes, prevention of
heart ailments, lowering hypertension and prevention of neural-tube
defects at birth. - The antioxidants present in corn also act as anti-carcinogenic
agents and prevent Alzheimer’s disease. - Popcorn consists of kernels of certain varieties that explode when
heated, forming fluffy pieces that are eaten as a snack. - Corn oil is oil extracted from the germ of corn. It is rich in
unsaturated fats and sterols, both of which can help lower blood
cholesterol. - Corn is produced on every continent of the world except Antarctica.
- Americans consume one third of all corn produced in the world.
- Before World War II, most corn was harvested by hand. The first mechanical corn harvester was developed in 1930 by the Gleaner Harvester Combine Corporation.
- The world record for corn eating is 33 and a half ears in 12 minutes.
- There is one strand of silk for each kernel on a cob.
- One acre of land can produce 14,000 pounds of sweet corn.
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