Uncommon Corn

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You can make grits from coarsely ground whole corn, too. In Wilsonville, Ala., Frank McEwen uses a small burr mill to grind blue, yellow and white corn into grits, which he sells out of a refrigerator case in his farm supply store. "My blue corn has a richer, cornier taste than white corn," he says, "but putting cheese into blue grits will turn them pink." Cooking times for whole-grain corn grits range from 20 minutes to more than an hour, depending on the corn variety and coarseness of the grind. If you're pressed for time, try making a big batch and refrigerating the leftovers; Roberts of Anson Mills says chefs do this all the time.

Parched corn offers yet another scrumptious way to eat unsweet grain corn. Corn-breeder Deppe and Alan Kapuler, president of Peace Seeds in Corvallis, Ore., developed two OP varieties that make superior parched corn 'Magenta Parch' and 'Supai Red Parch' (see "Getting to Know Culinary Corn," Page 64, for descriptions and seed sources for each corn variety in this article). Both can be ground into wonderful-tasting cornmeal, too.

"Parched corn starts out as a dry, crunchy morsel with a soft middle, with flavor that becomes sweeter as you chew," Deppe says. "The flavors are like nothing you've experienced."

Best of all, it is cooked in a dry pan without oil or other fat, or in a microwave oven. In about five minutes at medium-low heat, the toasting kernels start to swell and split, releasing a wonderful aroma. The best parching corns are slow to burn, though it's important to keep them moving by stirring or shaking the pan. You also need to hold a lid or screen over the pan to keep the kernels from popping out.

You can keep uncooked parching corn kernels indefinitely in an airtight container, or cook up batches and have them ready to munch in zip-top bags. Deppe says she likes to add nuts to her parched corn snacks, too, noting the oil and moisture of the nuts combine delightfully with the flavors and dryness of the corn.

GROWING FOOD CORN

In the centuries before Columbus arrived in the Americas, indigenous peoples from Alberta to Peru saved their most flavorful corns for seed. Many of these strains are extinct, but some of the flavors remain intact in Indian corn strains still grown in Mexico and the southwestern United States. These corns evolved in dry soil conditions, so they often grow poorly in cold or wet climates where microorganisms in the soil might cause root rot. Unlike hybrid corn, most old OP varieties stop growing new roots as they mature, so root rot is a serious threat.

The solution is to pick varieties adapted to your climate, which is what you will find among the offerings of regional seed companies such as Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (in the South), Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (Midwest), Territorial Seed Company (Northwest), Turtle Tree Seeds (Northeast) and Seeds of Change (Southwest).

There are three main types of grain corn to choose from: flour, flint and dent, differentiated by kernel characteristics. The following descriptions will help you make sense of variety information in seed catalogs.

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