Maize

Maize has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of wheat or rice.

It is the agricultural commodity with the third-highest worldwide production (rice, 741.5 million tonnes in 2014), after sugarcane (1.9 billion tonnes) and maize (1.0 billion tonnes).

However, little of this maize is consumed directly by humans: most is used for corn ethanol, animal feed and other, such as corn starch and corn syrup.

Corn ethanol is ethanol produced from corn biomass and is the main source of ethanol fuel in the United States.

The six major types of maize are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, and sweet corn. The narrower meaning is usually indicated by some additional word, as in sweet corn, sweetcorn, corn on the cob, baby corn, the puffed confection known as popcorn and the breakfast cereal known as corn flakes.

Popcorn (popped corn, popcorns or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated and the foodstuff produced from the expansion.

Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are usually grown for human consumption as kernels, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed, various corn-based human food uses (including grinding into cornmeal or masa, pressing into corn oil, and fermentation and distillation into alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey), and as chemical feedstocks.

Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) ground from dried maize (corn).

Maize has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of wheat or rice.

In 2017, world production of wheat was 730 million tonnes, with a forecast of 2019 production at 766 million tonnes, making it the second most-produced cereal after maize.

The six major types of maize are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, and sweet corn.

indurata; also known as Indian corn or sometimes calico corn) is a variant of maize, the same species as common corn.

The leafy stalk of the plant produces pollen inflorescences and separate ovuliferous inflorescences called ears that yield kernels or seeds, which are fruits.

On the other hand, in botanical usage, "fruit" includes many structures that are not commonly called "fruits", such as bean pods, corn kernels, tomatoes, and wheat grains.

The six major types of maize are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, and sweet corn. The narrower meaning is usually indicated by some additional word, as in sweet corn, sweetcorn, corn on the cob, baby corn, the puffed confection known as popcorn and the breakfast cereal known as corn flakes.

rugosa; also called sweetcorn, sugar corn and pole corn) is a hybridized variety of maize with a high sugar content.

However, little of this maize is consumed directly by humans: most is used for corn ethanol, animal feed and other, such as corn starch and corn syrup.

Corn syrup is a food syrup which is made from the starch of corn (called maize in some countries) and contains varying amounts of maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade.

Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are usually grown for human consumption as kernels, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed, various corn-based human food uses (including grinding into cornmeal or masa, pressing into corn oil, and fermentation and distillation into alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey), and as chemical feedstocks.

Masa (or masa de maíz) is a corn dough that comes from ground nixtamalized corn.

Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are usually grown for human consumption as kernels, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed, various corn-based human food uses (including grinding into cornmeal or masa, pressing into corn oil, and fermentation and distillation into alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey), and as chemical feedstocks.

Bourbon whiskey is a type of American whiskey, a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn.

Genetically modified maize made up 85% of the maize planted in the United States in 2009.

Genetically modified maize (corn) is a genetically modified crop.

Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are usually grown for human consumption as kernels, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed, various corn-based human food uses (including grinding into cornmeal or masa, pressing into corn oil, and fermentation and distillation into alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey), and as chemical feedstocks.

Field corn, or grain corn, is a North American term for maize (Zea mays) grown for livestock fodder (silage), ethanol, cereal and processed food products.

The Olmec and Maya cultivated maize in numerous varieties throughout Mesoamerica; they cooked, ground and processed it through nixtamalization.

Nixtamalization is a process for the preparation of maize (corn), or other grain, in which the corn is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater (but sometimes wood ash lye), washed, and then hulled.

Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are usually grown for human consumption as kernels, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed, various corn-based human food uses (including grinding into cornmeal or masa, pressing into corn oil, and fermentation and distillation into alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey), and as chemical feedstocks.

Corn oil (maize oil) is oil extracted from the germ of corn (maize).

The six major types of maize are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, and sweet corn.

amylacea) is a variety of corn with a soft starchy endosperm and a thin pericarp.

After the arrival of Europeans in 1492, Spanish settlers consumed maize and explorers and traders carried it back to Europe and introduced it to other countries.

Traders returned to Europe with maize, potatoes, and tomatoes, which became very important crops in Europe by the 18th century.

Maize has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of wheat or rice.

Staple foods are derived either from vegetables or animal products, and common staples include cereals (such as rice, wheat, maize, millet, and sorghum), starchy tubers or root vegetables (such as potatoes, cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, or taro), meat, fish, eggs, milk, and cheese.

The six major types of maize are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, and sweet corn.

Pod corn or wild maize is a variety of maize.

Maize has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of wheat or rice.

However, little of this maize is consumed directly by humans: most is used for corn ethanol, animal feed and other, such as corn starch and corn syrup.

The two most important feed grains are maize and soybean, and the United States is by far the largest exporter of both, averaging about half of the global maize trade and 40% of the global soya trade in the years leading up the 2012 drought.

The narrower meaning is usually indicated by some additional word, as in sweet corn, sweetcorn, corn on the cob, baby corn, the puffed confection known as popcorn and the breakfast cereal known as corn flakes.

Corn flakes, or cornflakes, is a breakfast cereal made by toasting flakes of corn (maize).

Spanish settlers far preferred wheat bread to maize, cassava, or potatoes.

Cassava is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics, after rice and maize.

Recent research in the early 21st century has modified this view somewhat; scholars now indicate the adjacent Balsas River Valley of south-central Mexico as the center of domestication.

The Balsas River valley was possibly one of the earliest maize growing sites in Mexico, dating from around 9200 years ago.

The narrower meaning is usually indicated by some additional word, as in sweet corn, sweetcorn, corn on the cob, baby corn, the puffed confection known as popcorn and the breakfast cereal known as corn flakes.

Corn on the cob is a culinary term used for a cooked ear of freshly picked maize from a cultivar of sweet corn.