November 10, 2004

It's Official: Corn Goes Both Ways!

Thanks to the insominiacal research by The Brown Cow, I am no longer confused by corn. We can all now sleep well at night secure in the knowledge that corn is both a vegetable AND a grain. The following is from a link s/he provided entitled What Counts As a Vegetable:

"When corn is sitting there on the cob, all yellow and squishy, it's a vegetable. However, when corn is taken off the cob and dried out, it's a grain. Cornbread is made with corn meal, which makes it a grain. Popcorn is made with dessicated corn kernels, and so is also a grain. Canned or frozen corn, on the other hand, goes out of its way to retain corn's various ... on-the-cob qualities, and therefore qualifies as a ... vegetable."


Thanks again to The Brown Cow!
(I'd give them a link except s/he is evidently one of the more anonymous types. Bummer.)

3 comments:

elswhere said...

Thank you Brown Cow, and thank you Words Rock! [Do you prefer to go by Words Rock or Suzanne? I wonder this every time I write to you.]

I have often wondered about corn. Every time I prepare yet another quick and lazy dinner of some frozen chunks of protein from Trader Joe's, as I put yet another bowl of frozen corn into the microwave, I tend to think: "Does this meal contain a vegetable? Or am I depriving my family of a balanced diet, serving them nothing but protein and starch?" Now, thanks to your post, I will rest easy.

Whew. I feel healthier already. (I really do! Not being sarcastic!)

Anonymous said...

Hey - has anyone asked the corn ?

I guess spending all that day basking in the sun, with little to do except wait for a gentle breeze to break the monotony, they get a long time to think.

If we knew the true thoughts of the corn, we would be that little bit wiser.

As for me, I am more interested in Hops. Now there's a grain with an attitude.

Meg: said...

Thanks for clearing that up. lmao