Publisher's Note

Publisher’s Note
by CK May is the month of flowers not just in the Philippines but also here in Calgary. A lot of my neighbors have done their spring cleaning and unfortunately I cannot cope up with them. I remember that during this time of the year my husband, Hank gets busier day by day. He takes care [...]
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Corn

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*** THE MAIN INGREDIENT segment aims to inform, educate, share skills and knowledge. It also hopes to satisfy most of our TASTEBUDS (the five elements of taste perception: salty, sour, bitter, sweet, and umami or savoury). Email your request INGREDIENT(s) be featured for its uses, nutrient contents and/or cooking tips, and comments/suggestions. ***The author has had 13 years of experience in the field of Food and Nutrition, Research, Community/Public Health and Food Services combined. Earned the Degree in Nutrition & Dietetics (Philippines.) and Food and Nutrition Technology Program (Canada). Information presented in this segment is based on nutritional books, online searches and personal knowledge of the author. Furthermore, all recipes featured in this segment are personally developed and/or original creations of the author, and are intended solely for personal use of the end users. This article and contents are copyrights and patent pending and therefore, no portion/ parts or whole can be re-produced for any other use other than stated above without the author’s expressed permission. Mbpd

September maybe our last hurrah for summer. I still wish you all avid MAIN followers had very active and productive summer months. For this issue I felt that I should include CORN as main ingredient to end the season on a high note.

The idea of using corn as inspiration came from our recent and first visit to Taber, the Corn Capital of Alberta, during the celebration of their Annual Corn Fest.

Corn is as important today to mankind as it was in the beginning to native people. According to Indian legend, corn was of divine origin – “it was the food of the gods that created the earth.” It is believed that corn dates back even further than the inhabitance of native people. Its origin is believed to be in the Mexican plateau or the highlands of Guatemala. Fossil pollen grains of corn have been found in drill cores of lake sediment beneath Mexico City. These sediments could be 80,000 years old or more.

Corn belongs to the grass family. Theory suggests that at one time, each individual kernel was covered by its own floral parts similar to the kernels of oats and barley, and that the cob readily broke down into small segments. It is believed that this has allowed corn as a species to survive. The husk and cob as we know them today were gradually developed from wild varieties by the native population.

The Native American name for corn was mahiz, which the early settlers called maize. In Native American language usage, the word “mahiz” means “that which sustains us.” Cultivating corn is responsible for turning the Native American tribes from nomadic to agrarian societies. They may have even used corn to brew beer before the European settlers arrived.

Corn is produced on every continent of the world with the exception of Antarctica. Corn has a variety of uses. It can be made into breakfast cereal, bread, snack foods, oil and corn syrup. It is also used to make bourbon or whisky. It is a source of ethanol for fuel and is used to make plastic and fabrics. In agriculture, corn is used as fish bait and livestock feed.

TASTEBUDS

Savoury Appetizer: Corn Fritters

Sweet Drink: CREAMY CORN DRINK

1 large or 2 small eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups fresh or canned corn kernels , drained
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
Deep fat cooking oil
Maple syrup (optional)

Procedure:

Beat eggs, and stir in flour and milk.
Add remaining ingredients, and blend.
Spoon heaping tablespoons of batter into hot, 375° F cooking oil, and cook until browned, turning once.
Drain on paper toweling, and serve hot with maple syrup, if desired.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

500grams corn kernels
3 cups evaporated milk
½ cup condensed milk
4 3″-long cinnamon sticks
Salt to taste

Procedure:

Add corn, evap and condensed milk, , and salt to a blender and puree until smooth.
Heat in saucepan until warm.
Serve in mugs with cinnamon sticks.

Yield: 4 servings

Savoury/Spicy: Corn Chowder

( Suwam na Mais)

Sweet: Corn Bread

Ingredients

1 tbsp. corn oil
1 medium-size onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 pound cured pork (tocino), diced
5 pieces fresh corn, removed from the cob
½ cup long beans ( sitaw)
½ cup zucchini
1 tbsp spicy shrimp paste ( bagoong)
2 cups broth
pepper to taste

Procedure

Saute onion in medium sauce pan. Add garlic
Add pork and simmer for 1 minute.
Add corn and simmer for 5 minutes or until corn is tender.
Pour stock and shrimp paste and pepper.
Add vegetables and simmer 2 minutes
Serve hot

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 cup flour shopping list
1 cup cornmeal shopping list
1 teaspoon baking soda shopping list
1/2 teaspoon baking powder shopping list
1 cup milk shopping list
1/2 cup soft margarine, melted
1/2cup honey shopping list
2 eggs, slightly beaten shopping list

Procedure:

Pre-heat oven to 400°
In a medium bowl mix together the dry ingredients.
Stir together the milk (I warm in microwave for 1 minute), ,melted margarine, honey (oil your measuring cup, the honey will slide out) and eggs.
Mix into the dry ingredients, only until fully moistened.
Pour into greased 9×9 square baking pan.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Yield: 16 servings

Savoury: Corn & Mango Salsa

Sweet:Corn Pudding Supreme ( Maja Mais)

Ingredients:

1 ½ corn kernels
1 mango, sliced and diced
1 ripe tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 small cucumber, seeded and diced
1/2 small red pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Olive oil, to taste
Lime juice, salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

In a medium bowl mix all ingredients except oil and lime juice .
Refrigerate
Add oil and lime juice just before serving.

Yield: 6 servings

2 cups thin coconut milk
2 cups evap milk
1 cup condensed milk
1 can ( 170grms) all purpose cream
1 cup cornstarch
2 cups corn kernel
1 jar sweet coconut strings (macapuno
toasted dessicated coconut for toppings

Procedure:

In a large pan, pour thin coconut milk and corn. Simmer until corn is tender.
Add condensed milk, cream and coconut strings.
In a bowl, dissolve cornstarch in evap milk and pour over pan.
Simmer at a very low heat, stirring constantly
Just before it is totally set, pour into serving dishes and refrigerate until set.

Yield : 12 servings

Corn

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