Baby corn
{{Short description|Type of cereal grain}}
{{Infobox food
| image = Baby corn.jpg
| image_upright =
| image_alt =
| caption = A bowl of cooked baby corn
| alternate_name = Young corn, cornlettes, child corn, baby sweetcorn
| serving_size = 85 g
| calories = 19
| calories_ref = {{cite web |url=https://www.nutritionix.com/food/baby-corn |title=Calories in Baby Corn |website=nutritionix.com |access-date=August 16, 2024}}
| protein = 0.7
| fat = 0.3
| carbohydrate = 4.2
| similar_dish = Corn
| no_recipes = true
}}
File:Baby corn still in husks - Tokyo - June 3 2021.jpeg
File:Stir fry à la Gabi-showcasingbabycorn (cropped).jpg of a mixture of vegetables including baby corn]]
Baby corn (also known as young corn, cornlettes, child corn or baby sweetcorn) is a cereal grain taken from corn (maize) harvested early while the stalks are still small and immature. It typically is eaten whole—including the cob, which is otherwise too tough for human consumption in mature corn—in raw, pickled, and cooked forms. Baby corn is common in stir fry dishes.
Production methods
There are two methods for producing baby corn: either as a primary crop, or as a secondary crop in a planting of sweet corn or field corn. In the first method, a seed variety is chosen and planted to produce only baby corn.{{Citation|url=http://www.goldcountryseed.com/Agronomy/Documents/Corn%20Pollination%20and%20Fertilization%20-%20Gold%20Country%20-%20Spotlight.pdf|title=Corn Pollination and Fertilization|publisher=Gold Country Seed|access-date=2016-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229034549/http://www.goldcountryseed.com/Agronomy/Documents/Corn%20Pollination%20and%20Fertilization%20-%20Gold%20Country%20-%20Spotlight.pdf|archive-date=2016-12-29|url-status=dead}} Many varieties are suitable, but those developed specifically for baby corn tend to produce more ears per plant. In the second production method, the variety is selected to produce sweet or field corn. The second ear from the top of the plant is harvested for baby corn, while the top ear
Baby corn ears are hand-picked as soon as the corn silks emerge from the ear tips, or a few days after. Corn generally matures very quickly, so the harvest of baby corn must be timed carefully to avoid ending up with more mature corn ears. Baby corn ears are typically {{convert|4.5|-|10|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|0.7|to(-)|1.7|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} in diameter.
Uses
Baby corn is consumed worldwide.{{Cite web|url=https://www.feedipedia.org/node/358|title=Maize green forage |website=feedipedia.org}}
Baby corn forage can also be fed fresh or ensiled to livestock animals.{{Cite web|url=https://www.feedipedia.org/node/13883|title=Maize silage |website=feedipedia.org}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://wpcdn.web.wsu.edu/extension/uploads/sites/25/babycornbroc.pdf What Is Baby Corn? Pamphlet] from Washington State University
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