Monday, October 23, 2006

Bring on the Baby Corn, Baby!


What the hell?

Baby corn is intruiging. It's weird and compelling. Crunchy and sweet and strange just like some of my dearest loved ones.

I've been wondering about baby corn lately. I had some idea in my mind that since it all looks so perfectly uniform, and has the most consistent texture, that it must not be corn at all and instead that it was some genetically manufactured item, like those weird floppy radish-looking things you get in your soup in japanese restaurants sometimes.

So naturally I had to get to the bottom of this and separate fact from fiction.

I did a google search, and as it turns out, it's no lie - it's really corn! And that's not all...


"Baby corn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Baby corn is a vegetable taken from standard maize (corn) plants harvested early, while the ears are very small and immature. Baby corn is typically eaten whole, cob and all, in contrast to mature maize, whose cob is typically too hard for human consumption. It is consumed both raw and cooked. When cooked, its culinary and physical properties (from the point of the human palate) do not change significantly; texture remains relatively the same, as does taste, which is relatively bland either raw or cooked.


Usage in cuisines of the world

Baby corn is used in a wide variety of dishes in many cuisines throughout the world. Such usage includes soups, salads, stir frys, and vegetable dishes. In the West, it is often sold canned in water or in brine.

In the United States, it is generally considered a component of East Asian cuisine, particularly Chinese cuisine (and American Chinese cuisine), though it can be found in American cuisine as well. In Germany, it sometimes appears as an accent in salad.


Nutritional value

Baby corn is low in calories, high in fiber and, like all vegetables, cholesterol free. It contains zinc and vitamin B3."

Well I don't know about you, but I've got that peaceful easy feeling now that I understand the true nature of baby corn and I know I'll have dreams of maize all through the night.

Probably one of the dreams will have to do with my brand new tortilla press that magically appears in my life, and of all the many delicious tortillas that I lovingly create with said press.

I'm not sure there will be any baby corn tortillas, but you just never know...

And if you have a favorite recipe featuring baby corn, why not drop me a line?

1 comment:

Emily Coker said...

i love midget corn.. not midget porn.