The Power of… Corn
Translation by: Eleanor D. Stevens
- The nixtamalization of corn dough increases its calcium content and the bioavailability of Vitamin B3 and certain proteins.
- Combining corn with legumes such as beans increases the quality of their proteins.
- Blue corn contains anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants that protect our cells.
What is corn?
Corn (zea mays) is a member of the Gramineae family, along with wheat, rice, barley, rye, and oats. However, unlike these other grains, corn is not known to have any direct relatives among wild plants. It is thought that it was developed by domesticating teosintle, another Graminea similar to corn that grows naturally in Mexico and parts of Central America.
Corn is central to all Mesoamerican cultures. The Popul Vuh tell how “Quetzalcóatl went down to Mictlán, the land of the dead, and there he gathered bones from a man and a woman and took them to the goddess Coatlicue. She ground the bones with corn, and from this paste humans were made.”
In industrialized countries, corn is used primarily as feed for animals, raw material for processed foods and, recently, for the production of ethanol. On the other hand, in several Latin American countries and, increasingly, in African countries as well, a high percentage of the corn grown or imported is destined for human consumption.
Currently, corn is cultivated in Mexico in a wide range of climates, altitudes, humidity levels, and soils, using many different technologies. Corn is Mexico’s principal crop, occupying around one third of cultivated land. Every state in the country produces corn, although 64.5% of production is concentrated in Sinaloa, Jalisco, Michoacán, Mexico State, Chiapas, Guerrero, and Veracruz.
What nutrients does corn provide?
Corn, as a cereal, consists primarily of starches. When its hull is not removed, it is also an important source of fiber in our diet.
Its nutritional properties vary depending on its degree of maturity. For this reason, we will first discuss the nutrients in fresh corn and then those in corn dough.
Fresh corn
Fresh corn is considered a vegetable because of its higher water content in comparison to the dry kernel, which is ground into corn dough.
Fresh corn is rich in potassium and folic acid, and yellow corn in particular contains vitamin A.
Corn dough
Corn dough is typically prepared from dried corn kernels soaked in lime water and then ground. This process, known as nixtamalización, or nixtamalization (from the Náhuatl nixtli, ashes, and tamalli, dough) is indispensable for making tortillas and other dough-based products.
Nixtamalization softens the dough and simultaneously improves its nutritional value, adding calcium and facilitating digestion of essential amino acids which make up the corn’s protein. Tortillas are, therefore, a good source of calcium, in addition to the calcium we get from dairy products and some vegetables.
Blue corn has a particular advantage in nutritional terms because it contains anthocyanins, flavonoid compounds with antioxidant properties which protect our cells from oxidation and DNA mutations.
Many people associate tortillas with weight gain. However, it’s important to remember that tortillas only contribute to weight gain if they are consumed in excess.
A typical tortilla from a tortillería (neighborhood tortilla shop) weighs around 30 grams and provides some 65 kilocalories. If we eat two tortillas during a meal, along with a main dish and a side of vegetables, we will probably maintain energetic equilibrium. However, if we consume up to ten tortillas, equivalent to 650 kilocalories, we will probably exceed our daily calorie requirement, since this is a third of the recommended daily calorie intake for a young adult male.
Unlike flour tortillas, corn tortillas contain very little fat, unless they are fried.
How much does corn cost?
According to the Sistema Nacional de Información e Integración de Mercados (National Market Information and Integration System), one kilo of tortillas from a tortillería costs between 10 and 18 pesos, depending on the state in which it is purchased.
As a general rule, corn dough costs slightly less than tortillas.
What’s the best way to eat corn?
In Mexico there exist at least 600 ways to prepare corn for consumption, including: tortillas, tamales, corundas, sopes, huaraches, memelas, peneques, picadas, salbutes, panuchos, molotes, quesadillas, tostadas, tacos, tlacoyos, and other snacks.
Traditional pozole, whether green, red, or white is prepared from cacahuazintle corn kernels. Corn dough can also be made into small balls, which are added to soups, beans, and a variety of sauces such as mole de olla and Oaxacan yellow mole. Corn kernels are boiled and then ground to make drinks such as pozol, tejate, and atole. To prepare pinole, the kernels are first baked and then ground. And, when fermented, they are used to make alcoholic drinks like tesgüino.
Currently, many of the dishes made from corn dough are fried. However, Mesoamerican societies never used this culinary technique. We recommend frying as little as possible in order to enjoy the benefits of corn without adding high quantities of fat.
Because of the nutritional advantages it provides, we recommend eating blue corn rather than white or yellow corn whenever possible.
Why shouldn’t we grow genetically modified corn?
Clearly, in Mexico corn is precious.
The campaign “Sin Maíz no hay Paíz” (No Corn, no Country) summarizes briefly why we should not allow the cultivation of genetically modified corn in Mexico:
“Distributed throughout its national territory, Mexico has 59 corn species and thousands of sub-species which will be contaminated if genetically modified corn is sown in Mexico. Corn is Mexico’s inheritance, our sustenance, and the basis of our diet and our economy, and it is recognized as the heart of indigenous and campesino cultures. It is a fundamental staple of agriculture in the face of climate change and socioeconomic instability. It is our right and our obligation to keep corn a common good, free of genetic modifications.”
For her part, Cristina Barros, a specialist in Mexican cuisine, reminds us: “There are only two varieties [of genetically modified corn], one resistant to a plague that is almost nonexistent in Mexico, and the other resistant to herbicides, when in our milpas many of the “weeds” are quelites, squash, beans, chile, and other plants that are staples of our diet.”
Did you know?
Corn is present in the form of tortillas in the great majority of Mexican homes. On average, a family will consume 20 kg of white or yellow corn tortillas each month. It is present in homes of all social classes, although at the lowest socioeconomic level this food may constitute half of all calories consumed and a third of all protein.
_____________________________________
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CORN:
Sin Maiz No Hay Pais
Biodiversidad
Greenpeace Mexico