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I've given in to the fact that I accidentally grew ornamental corn (what else can I do?) and I'm now drying it for a future wreath or something decorative as implied by the name. They are pretty!
I make mention of this because I know there are varieties of blue corn, which has a dark-colored cob that are grown in the South-west. You may want to try a Santa Ana variety.
I think your corn isn't a lost cause, maybe for the way you wanted to eat it -- that I can't help :P
Good luck with your harvest. Our growing seasons started late in the Seattle area but things are picking up nicely.
I would also like to note that "ornamental" corn is healthier than the varieties we have bred to taste sweet. It has higher mineral content some of which are lacking in yellow corn varieties like niacin.
My recommendation would be to grind it coarse, consider nixtamalizing it, and cook it into cornmeal mush. The mush can then make for good waffles, etc. if you mix in eggs, baking soda, maybe some oil, and sourdough starter. Polenta in bread is also not to be missed.
I highly recommend Carol Deppe's book, The Resilient Gardener.
A major focus of her book is the use of field corn in the home economy. She has lots of good recipes and food storage/processing techniques. Essentially, it's a full-featured manual for the home food economy, from plant breeding through managing leftovers.
9 comments:
I think you could probably grind it up for corn meal or flour. My impression was that was what "field corn" was for (as opposed to sweet corn).
Eric is right, I'm sure it's still good to eat, just not what you expected.
Read your story about the hog corn but I don't think it's entirely true. Are you sure you couldn't ground your ornamental corn up into coarse meal?
Starch content isn't a bad thing necessarily. Now if it's waxy, well, don't know much about that.
I think you should see how well it stews, perhaps make polenta out of it when it's dry.
I make mention of this because I know there are varieties of blue corn, which has a dark-colored cob that are grown in the South-west. You may want to try a Santa Ana variety.
I think your corn isn't a lost cause, maybe for the way you wanted to eat it -- that I can't help :P
Good luck with your harvest. Our growing seasons started late in the Seattle area but things are picking up nicely.
Here's an example of someone using 'hog' corn and loving it:
http://gingerbreadsnowflakes.com/node/234
Don't give up on your corn-- it's more robust than most realize.
I would also like to note that "ornamental" corn is healthier than the varieties we have bred to taste sweet. It has higher mineral content some of which are lacking in yellow corn varieties like niacin.
I do like the polenta idea!
My recommendation would be to grind it coarse, consider nixtamalizing it, and cook it into cornmeal mush. The mush can then make for good waffles, etc. if you mix in eggs, baking soda, maybe some oil, and sourdough starter. Polenta in bread is also not to be missed.
I highly recommend Carol Deppe's book, The Resilient Gardener.
A major focus of her book is the use of field corn in the home economy. She has lots of good recipes and food storage/processing techniques. Essentially, it's a full-featured manual for the home food economy, from plant breeding through managing leftovers.
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