Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the percentage of supersweet corn went from 2 percent to 90 percent within five years.
Today it is hard to find fresh corn grown anywhere that is not one of the improved super-
sweet varieties.
Understandably, these have become overwhelmingly popular among farmers and pro-
duce managers, who no longer have to listen to their customers complain about corn not
being sweet enough. Unfortunately, that plaint seems to be giving way to another - that
corn no longer tastes like corn. To an extent, that is true. Genetics is complicated, and it's
hard to alter one factor without changing another. In the case of corn, increasing the sugar
content has meant a decline in that amorphous quality called "corn flavor," as well as ker-
nels that are no longer creamy (but crunchy) in texture.
What we think of as corn flavor is primarily based on aroma and is mainly a function
of a chemical compound called dimethyl sulfide, which is also found in foodstuffs ranging
from cabbage to lobster meat. (This chemical also poses a significant problem for brewers
and vintners when it shows up in beer and wine.) Dimethyl sulfide is one of about half a
dozen sulfurous compounds that appear in cooked corn (but not in raw corn, which is why
raw corn always tastes so simple and sweet). It has a distinctive smell that is familiar from
canned corn. Other sulfurous smells in corn are not so pleasant. For instance, the second-
leading compound is hydrogen sulfide, which is familiar to anyone who has cracked a rot-
ten egg. But put together in relatively low concentrations, these compounds add up to a
lovely complex aroma.
Within the past couple of years, breeders have introduced varieties with complicated
genetics that offer variations on the three basic genotypes. The goal is an ear of corn with
the sweetness and slow sugar-to-starch conversion of "sh2," but with the creaminess and
strong corn flavor of "su" and "se." Some of the new varieties try to accomplish this with
a straight genetic blend - combining the best characteristics of each genotype in every ker-
nel. Others take a different route - combining on the same cob kernels of each type of corn,
so a single ear might contain 25 percent "su," 50 percent "se" and 25 percent "sh2." This
last type is still scarce. It is expensive to grow, and so far, farmers say, their customers
haven't been willing to put up with the additional expense.
Of course, when you're at the farm stand or produce market shopping for corn, odds are
you won't have a clue as to whether the corn is "su," "se," "sh2" or any combination there-
of. At best you'll be offered a choice of yellow or white - or bicolor, a cross-pollinated
combination of the two. But despite what you may have been led to believe, one color of
corn is not necessarily sweeter or "cornier" than another. The carotene that gives yellow
