Do you love corn on the cob? Corn or maize is a major cereal crop grown around the world.  It’s used to make bread, breakfast cereals and of course, popcorn! It is a member of the grass family Poaceae. Corn needs a large space to grow, plenty of water and sun, and rich soil. New varieties of corn are super sweet. Some are white or white and yellow. 

Corn was first grown by Native Americans more than 7,000 years ago in Central America. Corn plants typically grow 7 to 10 feet tall. The sweet corn cob, which is the long cylindrical part in the center, is covered in tiny corn pieces which are the delicious golden kernels that we eat. The entire kernel is often referred to seed. They are of various colors: blackish, bluish-gray, purple, green, red, white and yellow. 

Every row of corn on a corncob has the same number of kernels. The average ear of corn has 600 to 800 kernels. The ears is female inflorescences, tightly covered over by several layers of leaves (husk), and so closed-in by them to the stem that they do not show themselves easily until the emergence of the pale yellow silks from the leaf whorl at the end of the ear. 

Four Basic Types of Corn

Popcorn differs from other types of corn. It has a hard exterior shell and a soft starchy center. When heated, the natural moisture inside the kernel turns to steam and builds up enough pressure that it eventually explodes. Popcorn kernels can fly up to 3 fleet in the air when they pop. That is about the same height as a 3 year old child.

Categories: Curious World

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