We Call it Maize...

Corn -- glorious corn. You know, it was actually corn that inspired my very first blog. 'Memba that commercial from the '70s about maize...well, actually for Mazola Margarine:

You Tube: Mazola Commercial


I had my first sweet corn of 2011 today...it's one of the pure joys of summer in my opinion. There is simply nothing sweeter. 

Fincel's Sweet Corn - Accept No Substitutes

Fincel's Sweet Corn, locally grown in East Dubuque, IL, can't be beat. It's so popular, they have their own website and Facebook page. 


Fun facts about corn: 

• Although considered by many to be a vegetable, corn is actually one of the few grains native to the Western Hemisphere, where it has been cultivated for centuries.
• Corn is America's number one field crop. It leads all other crops in value and volume of production.
• In the U.S., corn production measures more than 2 times that of any other crop.
• Over 55% of Iowa's corn goes to foreign markets. The rest is used in other parts of the United States.
• Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Minnesota account for over 50 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. 
• The "Corn Belt" includes the states of Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky.
• Corn is produced on every continent of the world with the exception of Antarctica. 
• The area known as the "Pacific Rim" region (in Asia) is emerging as the world's fastest growing market for U.S. corn. There, most of the corn is fed to livestock to produce food for humans. The majority of the world's population is located in the Pacific Rim region. 
• Farley, IA bills itself as the "Heart of the Cornbelt."  

Corn conjures up a lot of memories from my childhood: 

• Buying produce, including corn, from an old man in Farley--Hank Otting--when we were growing up. We may have been farmers, but we were not gardeners. We let someone else do the work. 
• Picking rows and rows of corn when my brother Dave decided it was a good idea to fill up the corn planter with sweet corn seeds and making 6-8 rows of sweet corn the full length of the field. Helping Pearl freeze the corn was hot sweaty work...and there always seemed to be a bejillion flies buzzing around when we were shucking the corn. 
• Running through the cornfield on hot summer days -- the lush green leaves that retained moisture would feel cool on our skin. 
• Wondering if the corn really would be "knee high by the 4th of July." With hybrid corn, fertilizer, and insecticides, the corn was usually well over my head by the 4th of July. This was true even when I was "grown." 
• Hanging out in the cornfield next to the Farley Park with my friends when we were like 15 years old and splitting a 12-pack of beer among about eight of us. We thought the beer tasted awful, but we thought we were "cool." We probably were buzzed after one beer. 

Every season has its particular rituals. For me, it is eating enough sweet corn in a span of week to not crave it again until next year. Next up...my homemade salsa, concocted when the tomatoes are "just right" and the jalapeno peppers are so hot I think I can feel a hole burning in my stomach.