FORMS OF MAIZEA

REPORT BY

MR.ALLAH DAD KHAN

Flour (Zea mays amylacea)Flour corn is used in baked goods because it

has a soft, starch-filled, kernal that is easy to grind. Flour corn is primarily white, although it can be grown in other colors, for example, blue corn. One of the oldest types of corn, flour corn was a chief type grown

Popcorn (Zea mays everta)

Popcorn, a type of flint corn, has a soft starchy center surrounded by a very hard exterior shell. When popcorn is heated the natural moisture inside the kernal turns to steam that builds up enough pressure for the kernal to explode. When the kernal explodes the white starchy mass that you like to eat forms. All types of corn will pop to some degree, but they won't necessarily have enough starch to turn inside out, or an outside layer that will create enough pressure to explode . One of the oldest forms of corn, evidence of popcorn from 3600 B.C. was found in New Mexico! 

Dent (Zea mays indenata)Dent

corn is often used as livestock feed, in industrial products, or to make processed foods. Dent corn is also frequently referred to as "field" corn. Either white or yellow, dent kernals contain both hard and soft starch that become indented at maturity.

Flint (Zea mays indurata)Flint

corn, also known as Indian corn, is used for similar purposes as dent corn. Flint corn is distinguished by a hard outer shell and kernals with a range of colors from white to red. (You can remember that it has a very hard exterior by thinking of flint, the stone.)

Sweet (Zea saccharata or Zea rugosa)

Sweet corn is primarily eaten on the cob, or it can be canned or frozen for future consumption. Sweet corn is seldom used for feed or flour. Sweet corn is extra sweet because it contains more natural sugars than other types of corn. (Field corn contains 4% sugar at the same stage standard sweet corn contains 10% sugar.) Almost 50% of the sugar can be converted to starch only 24 hours after sweet corn is picked, so it is best to eat it fresh! 

Waxy Corn

The starch content of the kernels is what separates waxy from regular yellow dent field corn.  This is not a difference that can be seen by just looking at a corn field.  Normal corn kernels consist of 75% amylopectin and 25% amylose while waxy varieties are nearly 100% amylopectin.  The amylopection content makes waxy suitable for a number of uses for both food and other industries.  After the wet milling process the resulting starch is used as a thickener and stabilizer in many food products.  Waxy also makes good adhesives.  Cardboard boxes may contain glue made from waxy corn.  The sticky backing on envelopes is another adhesive product.

Pod Corn

Pod corn has a spectacular appearance that has fascinated naturalists for two centuries. In this maize variant, the kernels are wrapped in fine glumes which look like thin paper in their dried form and resemble a leaf sheath. The male flowers, which are arranged in a panicle at the end of the stem axis, are also surrounded by long glumes, and sometimes even develop kernels that can otherwise only be found in the cob. The pod corn leaves resemble those of the normal maize plant. Pod corn had a ritual significance for some Native American tribes and can therefore be found throughout the American continent

Amylomaize 

Amylomaize was a term coined by Robert P. Bear of Bear Hybrids Corn Company in Decatur, Illinois to describe his discovery and commercial breeding of a unique cornstarch with high (>50%) amylosecontent, also called high amylose starch. The discovery of amylomaize occurred as a mutation in a normal inbred line and from that one mutation, an entire new kind of maize (corn) was developed

Japonica Striped Maize 

A very unusual corn and one of the prettiest types of corn available today, Japonica Striped Maize has both variegated leaves and colorful ears. Leaves are striped white, green, yellow and red-pink. Ears have dark purple tassels and bright red kernels. The colors seem to develop better when plants are spaced at least 18" apart. Plants grow to about 6ft.

Japonica Striped Maize 

Blue corn (also known as Hopimaize) is a variety of flint maizegrown in Mexico and theSouthwestern United States, particularly in the states ofArizona[1]

 and New Mexico.[2] It is one of the main types of corn used for the traditional Southern and Central Mexican food known as tlacoyo.

Glass Gem Corn

Glass Gem corn, a unique variety of rainbow-colored corn, became an Internet sensation in 2012 when a photo of the dazzling cob was posted to Facebook.

Since then, the Arizona-based company that sells the rare seed, Native Seeds/SEARCH, has been ramping up production to meet the high demand.

A Facebook page devoted to Glass Gem allows growers to share pictures of the vibrant corn variety. It has nearly 4,000 likes. 

Carl Barnes spent years developing Glass Gem corn and passed the secret on before he died

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