nary meal, and some of its characteristic flavor, which by many is much appreciated, is lost. The chemical analysis shows that corn is rich in fats,3 although somewhat deficient in protein and mineral salts. The following is given as the composition of the proteins by Osborne. Zeins, solubles in alcohol, 5 per cent.; insolubles, 3.14 per cent.; globulins, 0.39 per cent.; albumins, 0.06 per cent.; making a total of 8.59 per cent. Corn Oil The oil of corn, sometimes called "maize oil," consists of mixed glycerides of oleic, palmitic and stearic acids. Commercial corn oil is prepared from the germ which is removed from the corn by some of the milling processes, especially those preceding the manufacture of starch and brewers grits, and in the process of making glucose. Corn Starch Corn starch, which is so extensively used in the preparation of puddings and for infants' food, is one of the most important corn 'U. S. Dept. Agri. Div. Chem. Bull. 50. ? Richardson. For prop. and comp. of corn oil, see J. Am. Chem. Soc., Vol. 23, p. 1-8. products. In the use of corn starch, under whatever name sold, it should not be forgotten that the product is nearly pure starch, and to form a satisfactory balanced ration its use should be supplemented with foods rich in nitrogenous material and fat. Corn starch is a common adulterant of the more expensive starchy foods, such as sago and arrow root. Cooking Corn As corn does not contain a true gluten like wheat, it cannot be used for making an ordinary bread raised with yeast, but there are numerous ways in which corn meal may be prepared as food. the product made by boiling the meal with water is called stirabout in Ireland, polenta in Italy and mush or hasty pudding in the United States. When the meal is baked in cakes it is known as johnny cake (said to be a corruption of journey cake). "Ash cake" is made by wrapping the dough in cabbage leaves and baking in hot ashes. In the Southern States the cakes are known as corn pones or hoe cake; in Mexico and South America as tortilla (tortio). For making the tortilla, the grain is parboiled and crushed by the use of a stone rolling-pin. These are of course all unleavened products, made by simply mixing the meal with water and salt and frying or baking in the most primitive way, either on a board or flat stone in front of the fire. "Scrapple" is a favorite PennsylvaniaGerman dish, made by boiling corn meal with scraps of pork, chopped hog's liver and kidneys, seasoning, and serving in fried slices like mush. Corn bread can be made by the use of baking powder or baking soda and sour milk. The meal is sometimes mixed with an equal quantity of wheat or rye flour. The best corn bread is made from the freshly ground corn meal.1 Sweet Corn Sweet corn furnishes an excellent food product during three or four months of the growing season, and has become of great 1 Farmers' Bull. No. 565. importance as a canned food. It compares favorably with the potato in food value, having 73 per cent. of water, while the potato contains 75 per cent.; sweet corn contains 13.5 per cent. of starch; 6.00 per cent. of sugar, and 5.00 per cent. of protein. The fresh potato contains only 1.20 per cent. of protein. Corn may be boiled "on the cob" or cut from it, or it may be roasted, but in any case it is eaten hot. (See succotash, p. 192.) Canned Sweet Corn In the United States canned sweet corn has become almost a family necessity. It is of better quality for canning when grown in the north, and the principal canneries are located in Maine, Maryland, New York, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin. It happens unfortunately that there are opportunities and an incentive to adulterate sweet corn, and so it was formerly found bleached with sodium sulfite, to make it white, or sweetened with saccharin (see p. 130), or at least with cane sugar, and thickened with starch instead of being canned in its natural state. Pop Corn (Zea everta) Pop corn is peculiar from the tendency of its kernels to turn inside out upon heating. It differs from the ordinary flint corn in having a larger proportion of corneous endosperm or horny substance associated with the starchy portion of the kernel.1 The ears and kernels of pop corn are small and the whole plant is diminutive compared with other varieties. The kernels may be red, yellow or white, but there is less demand for the colored varieties. The white rice corn is the variety most in favor. More than 280,000 bushels are grown annually in the United States, the largest producers being the states of Iowa and Nebraska. The cause of the popping of corn is the expansion of the moisture contained in the starch cells. The seed coat should be sufficiently hard and dry to afford considerable resistance to the expansion, otherwise the corn does not pop well. For 1 U. S. Dept. of Agri. Farmer's Bull. No. 554. popping, the corn should contain about 12 per cent. of moisture, and if properly stored it will retain this quantity for several years. Pop corn is not ready for marketing until the summer following the season in which it is grown. Pop corn is used more as a confection than a food, but it is at the same time wholesome and nutritious. The principle products are pop-corn balls, corn bar, sugar-coated pop corn, popcorn bricks, and "crackerjack," which is a mixture of pop corn and peanuts held together with sugar and glucose. Corn Flour as an Adulterant The mixing of corn flour with wheat flour is considered an adulteration in the United States, but this mixture is allowed if the fact is stated on the package and when a small revenue tax is paid. Pellagra not Caused by Eating Corn There is a disease called "Pellagra," which was at one time supposed to be caused by eating moldy or fermented corn. It was reported from Spain nearly 200 years ago and has been prevalent in parts of France and Italy, for many years, but only recently has it attracted much attention in America, 'principally in the Southern States. Pellagra is without doubt a "deficiency disease" and is due to a lack of "vitamines" in the food. It should be classed with Rickets and "Beri-beri." (p. 26.) Corn has been in use for generations over vast areas without causing the disease, and people have pellagra who do not eat Indian corn.1 Food Values of Corn Wiley' says "There is a widespread opinion that the products of Indian corn are less digestible and less nutritive than those from 1 Independent, N. Y., Vol. 74, p. 874. U. S. Dept. Agri. Div. Chem. Bull. No. 13, pt. 9, p. 1290. wheat. This opinion, it appears, has no justification either from the chemical composition of the two bodies, or from recorded digestive or nutritive experiments. In round numbers corn contains twice as much fat or oil as wheat, three times as much as rye, twice as much as barley, and two-thirds as much as hulled oats. Indian corn has nearly the same content of nitrogenous matters as the other cereals, with the exception of oats." In fuel or energy value corn stands very high, having in fact nearly 1800 calories per pound, or 100 calories above the average of the cereals. This is of course due to the large proportion of fat which it contains. Sweet corn sometimes causes irritation in the intestines on account of the presence of the tough exterior coating which resists digestion. The increase in the use of corn, in the life of the far East, bids fair to be an important economic factor. Indo-China and the Philippines have begun raising corn in the place of rice and millet. In the Philippines, a campaign of education, begun by the U. S. Dept. of Agric., is beginning to bear fruit. The crop seems well adapted to this climate, and 2 or even 3 crops are raised annually. It is believed that the raising of corn will do much to improve the condition of the natives, as it renders them less liable to a famine when the rice crop fails.' RICE (Oryza sativa) Rice is a native of India and southern China, and has been known in Asia as a food product from the earliest times, in fact there is evidence of its being in use in China as early as 2800 B. C. It is grown principally in the East, in southern Europe, in the West Indies, and the southern Atlantic and Gulf States. It was introduced into the U. S. in 1694, and its cultivation is rapidly extending especially in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and California, which four states now furnish three-fourths of all the product of the country. Before the Civil War, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia were the principal rice-producing states. 1 D. Cons. Tr. Rep. U. S., 1913, No. 254. |