Random poll question about corn.

[Colleen]

Kinda random...Do you know corn isn't a vegetable? I think some (many?) aren't aware that corn is a grain, not a vegetable. I wonder if this is in part due to how it's portrayed in our culture. Remember the Swanson's tv dinners from yesteryear, for example? Corn was the "vegetable" in there, alongside meat loaf and mashed potatoes.:D

[Remudamom]

I always think of corn as a veggie, but as a rancher's wife I should know it's a grain. Whatever it is it's my favorite...............starch. Corn on the cob, creamed, fried, fresh or frozen, I love it.

[Crissy]

I do know now, but it was only recently (in the past year or so) that I learned the truth.

I had always thought of it as a starchy vegetable. I think of peas the same way.

[beansprouts]

Did you know that a grain is a vegetable?

 

veg⋅e⋅ta⋅ble

 

1.any plant whose fruit, seeds, roots, tubers, bulbs, stems, leaves, or flower parts are used as food, as the tomato, bean, beet, potato, onion, asparagus, spinach, or cauliflower.2.the edible part of such a plant, as the tuber of the potato.3.any member of the vegetable kingdom; plant.

 

 

;)

[Amy loves Bud]

Kinda random...Do you know corn isn't a vegetable? I think some (many?) aren't aware that corn is a grain, not a vegetable. I wonder if this is in part due to how it's portrayed in our culture. Remember the Swanson's tv dinners from yesteryear, for example? Corn was the "vegetable" in there, alongside meat loaf and mashed potatoes.:D

 

Yep, I know that. And most of the available corn is genetically modified beyond recognition.

 

When I was in my ob residency - my first week I think - a new dad gave me a thank you gift of heirloom white corn from Maryland's eastern shore. I've never looked at corn the same since. That was some good corn!

[Tree House Academy]

I should have known that - I mean, we grow corn and what we have left over we allow ranchers to harvest for feed. Kind of duh, but I had never thought of it before. Hey...it is in the veggie section at the supermarket. That is what REALLY matters. LOL

[danybug]

It is news to me. I guess it is kind of obvious after the fact, when you think about it. But no, I did not put that together. Thanks for teaching me something new today!

[Paula in MS]

The tip off for me was when I bought some cornflakes and it had 100% whole grain on the label. I had to really think about that.

 

Paula

[Perry]

From eXtension:

 

 

FAQ #17275

 

 

Please settle a dispute. Is sweet corn a vegetable or a grain? What is the difference? How about field corn?

 

Corn seed is actually a vegetable, a grain, and a fruit.

Corn seed is a vegetable because it is harvested for eating. (Usually sweet corn when grain is harvested at the milk stage.)

Corn seed is a grain because it is a dry seed of a grass species. (Usually field corn when harvested after the grain is relatively dry.)

Corn seed is a fruit because that is the botanical definition.

More details follow.

Corn (Zea mays) is sometimes called a vegetable grain. Corn is a monocotyledon with only one seed leaf like grasses. The easily identified "grains" (or cereal plants/grasses) such as wheat, oats, and barley are also monocots. A grain is defined as the harvested dry seeds or fruit of a cereal grass, or the term can refer to the cereal grasses collectively.

Field corn that is harvested when the seeds are dry would thus be considered a grain. Sweet corn when harvested before maturity is usually considered a vegetable. It is grown to be eaten fresh as a tender vegetable rather than as a dried grain suitable for grinding into flour or meal. A vegetable is defined as a plant cultivated for an edible part or parts such as roots, stems, leaves, flowers, or seeds/fruit.

If you want to be very precise, all cereal grains could be called vegetables, but by convention we separate the cereal grains from the rest of the "vegetables" such as peas, lettuce, potatoes, cabbage, etc.

 

 

 

[*********]

I learned from a dietician, while pregnant with my second, that both corn and peas are dietarily classified as 'starch', not 'vegetable'. I was, um, 29 at the time. My parents served us the standard-American-junk-diet growing up, and corn was usually the only 'vegetable' we saw. And to think of all the times I choked down peas as an adult, thinking they were good for me. :lol: I'd much rather have broccoli or grean beans...

 

It's weird, I very rarely serve corn to my family. I really do love it, but after learning the truth about it, and considering how much I ate of it as a child, I just can't bring myself to serve it.

[beansprouts]

and tomatoes are a fruit!

 

Technically they are a berry.

 

Mmmmmmm!!! Ice cream sundaes anybody??

[beansprouts]

I learned from a dietician, while pregnant with my second, that both corn and peas are dietarily classified as 'starch', not 'vegetable'. I was, um, 29 at the time. My parents served us the standard-American-junk-diet growing up, and corn was usually the only 'vegetable' we saw. And to think of all the times I choked down peas as an adult, thinking they were good for me. :lol: I'd much rather have broccoli or grean beans...

 

It's weird, I very rarely serve corn to my family. I really do love it, but after learning the truth about it, and considering how much I ate of it as a child, I just can't bring myself to serve it.

 

I think technically peas are legumes like beans.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Kinda random...Do you know corn isn't a vegetable? I think some (many?) aren't aware that corn is a grain, not a vegetable. I wonder if this is in part due to how it's portrayed in our culture. Remember the Swanson's tv dinners from yesteryear, for example? Corn was the "vegetable" in there, alongside meat loaf and mashed potatoes.:D

 

Yep. But growing up I didn't know.

[Jen in PA]

My 5 year old dd learned about corn somewhere -- I'm guessing Magic School Bus. Now she reminds me that it is a grain everytime I ask about which veggie they want with dinner.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

Yep. I *know* it is a grain, but I think of fresh corn (or frozen) served for dinner as a starchy vegetable. My parents always had a second veggie (like green salad) when corn was served. Same with baked potatoes.

 

I think of it as a grain when it is ground corn. So corn bread, grain. Polenta, grain.

[Tabrett]

and tomatoes are a fruit!

It is actually a veggie according to the public school system.:blink: If it were to be considered a fruit the school lunch system would have to be totally revamped. So the gov. allows it to be a "vegetable".:001_unsure:

[Tutor]

My understanding is that there are botanical distinctions and culinary distinctions. Botanically, it is a grain. Culinarily, it is treated as both a grain and a vegetable. It is all in how you prepare it. In cornbread, it's a grain; steamed on the cob, it's a vegetable (culinarily speaking).

[Chris in VA]

Hey Colleen, I have a little question--

 

Does each corn plant bear only one ear of corn?

[LizzyBee]

When I was in my ob residency - my first week I think - a new dad gave me a thank you gift of heirloom white corn from Maryland's eastern shore. I've never looked at corn the same since. That was some good corn!

 

One of my biggest disappointments about moving from MD to NC is the dearth of good vegetables in NC. Even when we grow them ourselves, they don't taste the same because the dirt here is different. We've bought loads of topsoil for our garden, and the veggies still don't have much flavor. If we go to MD in late summer or fall, we always bring back a couple dozen ears of corn on the cob. I think this year, we are going to stick to strawberries and sweet potatoes in our garden.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Hey Colleen, I have a little question--

 

Does each corn plant bear only one ear of corn?

 

I can answer that one.

 

No, each stalk has several ears.

[Evergreen State Sue]

I voted nope, but I think I really knew it wasn't. I can hear in my head me asking the family, "What kind of vegetable shall we have with dinner?" and they always will say, "Corn!". I veto corn quite frequently because it isn't green!

[dirty ethel rackham]

I was raised with corn as one of the few veggies served (along with the iceburg lettuce salad.) However, when I developed reactive hypoglycemia in college, I had to relearn how to eat. I was shocked to see corn on my "eat sparingly" list. I rarely eat products with corn anymore because the really mess with my sugars.

[Chris in VA]

Thanks, Pam.

 

("See? I TOLD you you were wrong!")

[beansprouts]

berries are fruit so can we both be right? :D

 

Yes, of course! That's what I am saying. ;)

[Nicole M]

Aw, shucks, girls. You're all wrong. In my house, according to my husband, corn is a starch. :D

[Blossom'sGirl]

At least I think that was the movie name. They said it was a grass.

[SapphireStitch]

One of my biggest disappointments about moving from MD to NC is the dearth of good vegetables in NC. Even when we grow them ourselves, they don't taste the same because the dirt here is different. We've bought loads of topsoil for our garden, and the veggies still don't have much flavor. If we go to MD in late summer or fall, we always bring back a couple dozen ears of corn on the cob. I think this year, we are going to stick to strawberries and sweet potatoes in our garden.

 

:iagree::iagree:

 

Same here. We came from IL to NC and it was like being thrown out of Eden, gardenwise. The soil and the heat must create the difference. I guess the solution would be to develop a great love for things like collards and okra that grow here so well.

[lionfamily1999]

I'm not voting. The whole thing is so stinking arbitrary. Ds and I looked up fruits, veggies and starches, and it seems that it depends on the source as to how they're categorized. I'm starting to think where something sits on the pyramid is about as scientific as 'race.'