flint corn
{{Short description|Variety of maize}}
{{Infobox cultivar
| name = Flint corn
| image = Corncobs.jpg
| image_caption = Flint corn is named for its hard kernels, which typically come in a multitude of colors
| image_alt =
| species = Zea mays
| variety = Zea mays var. indurata
| group =
| cultivar =
| origin =
}}
Flint corn (Zea mays var. indurata; also known as Indian corn or sometimes calico corn) is a variant of maize, the same species as common corn.[http://jugalbandi.info/2007/11/indian-corn/ jugalbandi.info] Indian Corn Because each kernel has a hard outer layer to protect the soft endosperm, it is likened to being hard as flint, hence the name.{{cite web|url=http://www.mnh.si.edu/archives/garden/history/corn.html |title=Seeds of Change Garden |publisher=www.mnh.si.edu |access-date=2010-03-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090722113749/http://www.mnh.si.edu/archives/garden/history/corn.html |archive-date=July 22, 2009 }}
It is one of six major types of corn, the others being dent corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, and sweet corn.Linda Campbell Franklin, "Corn," in Andrew F. Smith (ed.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013 (pp. 551–558), p. 553.
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History
With less soft starch than dent corn (Zea mays indentata), flint corn does not have the dents in each kernel from which dent corn gets its name.[http://aces.nmsu.edu/news/1999/110299_bluecorn.html nmsu.edu] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110403063232/http://aces.nmsu.edu/news/1999/110299_bluecorn.html |date=April 3, 2011 }} Blue Corn Unique to American Southwest This is one of the three types of corn cultivated by Native Americans, both in New England and across the northern tier, including tribes such as the Pawnee on the Great Plains. Archaeologists have found evidence of such corn cultivation in what is now the United States before 1000 BC.[https://books.google.com/books?id=eDJ3NjHh8H8C&q=how+early+was+flint+corn+in+america+BC%22&pg=PA136], Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1965; reprint 1977, pp. 4–8, accessed 16 Dec 2009 Corn was initially domesticated in Mexico by native peoples about 9,000 years ago. They used many generations of selective breeding to transform a wild teosinte grass with small grains into the rich source of food that is modern Zea mays.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}
Distinctive traits
File:Glass gem corn with husk.jpg, an heirloom flint corn variety from Oklahoma]]
Because flint corn has a very low water content, it is more freezing-resistant than other vegetables. It was the only Vermont crop to survive New England's infamous "Year Without a Summer" of 1816.[http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/ark_product_detail/roys_calais_flint_corn/ slowfoodusa.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823061709/http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/ark_product_detail/roys_calais_flint_corn |date=2013-08-23 }} Roy's Calais flint corn. Retrieved August 2011
=Coloration=
The coloration of flint corn often differs from white and yellow dent corns, many of which were later bred. Most flint corn is multi-colored. Like the Linnaeus variant of maize, any kernel may contain the yellow pigment zeaxanthin but at more varying concentrations.[http://www.mnh.si.edu/archives/garden/history/corn.html mnh.si.edu] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090722113749/http://www.mnh.si.edu/archives/garden/history/corn.html |date=July 22, 2009 }} What kinds of corn are there?
Regional varieties with specific coloration include blue corn and purple corn. Glass Gem corn became internet famous in 2012 when photos of this brightly colored flint corn went viral.{{Cite web |title=Glass Gem Corn |url=https://www.nativeseeds.org/pages/glass-gem-corn |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=Native-Seeds-Search |language=en}}
Uses
File:Tinigib (Visayan white corn), boiled (Philippines) 04.jpg, an heirloom flint corn variety from the Philippines]]
Popcorn (Zea mays everta, "corn turned inside out") is considered a variant of this type. It has a hard, slightly translucent kernel.New Oxford American Dictionary
Flint corn is also the type of corn preferred for making hominy, a staple food in the Americas since pre-Columbian times.
In the Philippines, the Visayan white corn is an heirloom flint corn variety that is a secondary staple cereal in the country.{{cite journal |last1=Elca |first1=Cenon D. |last2=Lapiña |first2=Geny F. |last3=Velasco |first3=Dia M. |last4=Salazar |first4=Francis Joshua D. |last5=Pajadan |first5=Karen M. |last6=Ceguerra |first6=Keno Leandro P. |title=Technical Efficiency Analysis of Flint-type White Corn Production in Quezon and Cagayan Provinces in the Philippines |journal=Philippine Journal of Crop Sciences |date=August 2018 |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=27–37 |url=https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.5555/20183300823}} It descended from the corn introduced by the Spanish during the early Spanish colonial period (1565–1898).{{cite journal |last1=Salazar |first1=A.M. |last2=Pascual |first2=C.B. |last3=Caasi-Lit |first3=M.T. |last4=Pentecostes |first4=K.Z. |last5=Dumalag |first5=P.Y. |last6=Ladia |first6=((V.A., Jr.))|last7=Paril |first7=J.F. |title=Breeding Potential of Philippine Traditional Maize Varieties |journal=SABRAO Journal of Breeding and Genetics |date=2016 |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=154–161 |url=https://sabraojournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/SABRAO-J-Breed-Genet-48-2-154-161-Salazar-1.pdf}} It can be eaten boiled or grilled, used in a wide variety of traditional dishes as an ingredient, or ground into grits that are eaten as a common rice substitute.{{cite web |title=Tinigib Visayan White Corn |url=https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/ark-of-taste-slow-food/native-visayan-white-corn/ |website=Ark of Taste |publisher=Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity |access-date=17 April 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Kimilat |first1=Vaneza |title=Sira-sira Store: How you eat corn (Part 1) |url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/more-articles/sira-sira-store-how-you-eat-corn-part-1 |access-date=17 April 2025 |work=SunStar |date=18 September 2015}}
In the United States, the flint corn cultivars that have large proportions of kernels with hues outside the yellow range are primarily used ornamentally as part of Thanksgiving decorations. They are often called either "ornamental corn" or "Indian corn", although each of those names also has other meanings. These varieties can be popped and eaten as popcorn, although many people incorrectly believe that such colored varieties are not palatable or are poisonous.