{{Short description|Variety of corn}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox cultivar | name = Sweet corn | image = vegCorn.jpg | image_caption = Husked sweet corn | species = ''Zea mays'' convar. ''saccharata'' var. ''rugosa'' | origin = United States }}
'''Sweet corn''' (''Zea mays'' convar. ''saccharata'' var. ''rugosa''),<ref>{{cite journal | first = A. T. | last = Erwin |date=July 1951 | title = Sweet Corn—Mutant or historic species? | journal = Economic Botany | volume = 5 | issue = 3 | page = 302 | publisher = Springer New York | doi=10.1007/bf02985153| bibcode = 1951EcBot...5..302E | s2cid = 28127396 }}</ref> also called '''sweetcorn''', '''sugar corn''' and '''pole corn''', is a variety of corn (maize) grown for human consumption with a relatively high sugar content.
Sweet corn is the result of a naturally occurring recessive mutation in the genes which control conversion of sugar to starch inside the endosperm of the corn kernel. Sweet corn is picked when still immature (the milk stage) and prepared and eaten as a vegetable, unlike field corn, which is harvested when the kernels are dry and mature (dent stage).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/Crops/Corn.html|date=18 February 1999|title=Corn |publisher=NewCROP, New Crop Resource Online Program, Purdue University}}</ref> Since the process of maturation involves converting sugar to starch, sweet corn stores poorly and must be eaten fresh, canned, or frozen, before the kernels become tough and starchy.
It is one of the six major types of corn, the others being dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, and flour corn.<ref>Linda Campbell Franklin, "Corn," in Andrew F. Smith (ed.), ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America''. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013 (pp. 551–558), p. 553.</ref>
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==History== thumb|Young sweet corn thumb|upright|The same rows of corn 41 days later at maturity
In 1493, Christopher Columbus returned to Europe with corn seeds, although this revelation did not succeed due to inadequate education of how to produce corn. Sweet corn occurs as a spontaneous mutation in field corn and was grown by several Native American tribes. The European cultivation of sweet corn occurred when the Iroquois tribes grew the first recorded sweet corn (called 'Papoon') for European settlers in 1779.<ref name="RJSch">Schultheis, Jonathan R. [https://web.archive.org/web/19970713003950/http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-13.html "Sweet Corn Production."] North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, North Carolina State University. Revised 12/94.</ref> It soon became a popular food in the southern and central regions of the United States.
Open pollinated cultivars of white sweet corn started to become widely available in the United States in the 19th century. Two of the most enduring cultivars, still available today, are 'Country Gentleman' (a Shoepeg corn with small kernels in irregular rows) and 'Stowell's Evergreen'.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.timesunion.com/living/article/Make-every-ear-count-546254.php | publisher = Times Union | title = Make every ear count | date = 6 August 2009 | access-date = 2021-04-03}}</ref>
Sweet corn production in the 20th century was influenced by the following key developments: *hybridization allowed for more uniform maturity, improved quality and disease resistance **In 1933 'Golden Cross Bantam' was released. It is significant for being the first successful single-cross hybrid and the first specifically developed for disease resistance (Stewart's wilt in this case).<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/intropp/lessons/prokaryotes/Pages/StewartWilt.aspx | title = Stewart's Wilt of Corn | access-date = 2014-07-07 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171122102918/https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/intropp/lessons/prokaryotes/Pages/StewartWilt.aspx | archive-date = 2017-11-22 | url-status = dead }}</ref> *identification of the separate gene mutations responsible for sweetness in corn and the ability to breed cultivars based on these characteristics: **''su'' (normal sugary) **''se'' (sugary enhanced, originally called Everlasting Heritage) **''sh2'' (shrunken-2)<ref name="DLLarson">{{cite journal|last= Levey Larson|first= Debra|date= August 2003|title= Supersweet sweet corn: 50 years in the making|journal= Inside Illinois|volume= 23|issue= 3|url= http://www.news.uiuc.edu/II/03/0807/sweetcorn.html|access-date= 2009-09-03|publisher= University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081012155831/http://www.news.uiuc.edu/II/03/0807/sweetcorn.html|archive-date= 2008-10-12}}</ref>
There are dozens of sweet corn cultivars.<ref name="ontario">{{cite web |title=Sweet corn |url=https://www.ontario.ca/foodland/food/sweet-corn |publisher=Foodland Ontario, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness |access-date=14 July 2025 |date=2025}}</ref>
==Structure== {{see also|Maize#Structure and physiology}} thumb|200px|Loose kernels of sweet corn
The fruit of the sweet corn plant is the corn ''kernel'', a type of fruit called a caryopsis. The ''ear'' is a collection of kernels on the ''cob''. Because corn is a monocot, there is always an even number of rows of kernels.{{Explain|date=September 2010}} The ear is covered by tightly wrapped leaves called the ''husk''. ''Silk'' is the name for the pistillate flowers, which emerge from the husk. The husk and silk are removed by hand, before boiling but not necessarily before roasting, in a process called ''husking'' or ''shucking''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meredith |first=Mamie J. |date=February 1938 |title=Cornhusking and Other Terms |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/451363 |journal=American Speech |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=19–24 |doi=10.2307/451363|jstor=451363 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
==Consumption== {{see also|List of maize dishes|Protein combining}} [[File:Vegan Garden Corn Chowder with Chives (cropped).jpg|thumb|200px|Corn chowder]] [[File:Succotash SJTaylor 28Aug2020.jpg|thumb|200px|Succotash combines cooked sweet corn, lima beans, and okra]]
In most of Latin America, sweet corn is traditionally eaten with beans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dry Beans Play Major Role in Traditional, Healthy Hispanic Diet |url=https://beaninstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Volume5_Number1-HispanicDiet.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Latin America's rice and beans dishes provide more than deliciousness |url=https://www.heart.org/en/news/2024/10/11/latin-americas-rice-and-beans-dishes-provide-more-than-deliciousness |access-date=2026-04-03 |website=www.heart.org |language=en}}</ref> Although neither corn nor beans alone provides a nutritionally complete amino acid profile, combining them supplies all essential amino acids.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Healthfully |url=https://healthfully.com/427417-does-corn-on-the-cob-provide-all-of-the-essential-amino-acids.html |access-date=2026-04-03 |website=Healthfully |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Latin America's rice and beans dishes provide more than deliciousness |url=https://www.heart.org/en/news/2024/10/11/latin-americas-rice-and-beans-dishes-provide-more-than-deliciousness |access-date=2026-04-03 |website=www.heart.org |language=en}}</ref>
In Malaysia, there exists a variety unique to the Cameron Highlands named "pearl corn". The kernels are glossy white, resembling pearls, and can be eaten raw off the cob, although they are often boiled in water and salt.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eatfresh.org/discover-foods/corn|title=Corn (bicolor)|website=eatFresh.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207142430/http://eatfresh.org/discover-foods/corn|archive-date=7 December 2018|access-date=31 March 2020}}</ref>
In the Philippines, boiled sweet corn kernels are served hot with margarine and cheese powder as an inexpensive snack sold by street vendors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ilovetansyong.com/2013/07/SweetCorn.html|title=Japanese Corn in the Philippines: So Corny! So Sweet! So Cheesy! – I ♥ Tansyong™}}</ref>
Similarly, sweet corn in Indonesia is traditionally ground or soaked with milk, which makes available the B vitamin niacin in the corn, the absence of which would otherwise lead to pellagra. Cheese and condensed milk are added to sweet corn in the snack ''jasuke'', short for ''jagung susu keju''.
In Brazil, a combination of ground sweet corn and milk is also the basis of various well-known dishes, such as ''pamonha'' and the pudding-like dessert {{lang|pt|curau}}, while sweet corn eaten directly off the cob tends to be served with butter.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
In Europe and Asia sweet corn is often used as a pizza topping or in salads. Corn on the cob is a sweet corn cob that has been boiled, steamed, or grilled whole; the kernels are then cut off and eaten or eaten directly off the cob. Creamed corn is sweet corn served in a milk or cream sauce. Sweet corn can also be eaten as baby corn. Corn soup can be made adding water, butter and flour, with salt and pepper for seasoning.
In the United States, sweet corn is eaten as a steamed vegetable or on the cob, and is usually served with butter and salt. It can be found in Tex-Mex cooking in chili, tacos, and salads. Corn mixed and cooked with lima beans is one form of succotash. Sweet corn is one of the most popular vegetables in the United States, being most popular in the southern and central regions of the country, and can be purchased either fresh, canned, or frozen. Sweet corn ranks among the top ten vegetables in value and per capita consumption. {{nutritionalvalue | name = Cooked yellow sweet corn, unsalted | water = 73.4 g | kcal = 96 | protein = 3.4 g | fat = 1.5 g | carbs = 21 g | fiber = 2.4 g | sugars = 4.54 g | sucrose = 2.74 g | glucose = 0.84 g | fructose = 0.79 g | calcium_mg = 3 | iron_mg = 0.45 | magnesium_mg = 26 | phosphorus_mg = 77 | potassium_mg = 270 | sodium_mg = 1 | zinc_mg = 0.62 | copper_mg = 0.049 | manganese_mg = 0.167 | selenium_ug = 0.2 | vitC_mg = 5.5 | vitA_ug = 13 | folate_ug = 23 | niacin_mg = 1.68 | riboflavin_mg = 0.057 | thiamin_mg = 0.093 | pantothenic_mg = 0.792 | vitB6_mg = 0.139 | vitK_ug = 0.4 | betacarotene_ug = 66 | lutein_ug = 906 | vitE_mg = 0 | note = [https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/169999/nutrients Link to USDA entry for FoodData Central] }}
==Nutrition== Cooked (boiled) yellow sweet corn is 73% water, 21% carbohydrates, 3% protein, and 1% fat (table). In a reference amount of {{cvt|100|g}}, yellow sweet corn supplies 96 calories, 2.4 grams of dietary fiber, and is a moderate source (11–16% of the Daily Value) of the B vitamins, niacin and pantothenic acid, with no other micronutrients in significant content (table).
Sucrose represents 60% of the sugars in cooked yellow sweet corn (table). According to the Ontario government agency, Foodland Ontario, the sugar content of traditional corn is about 9–16%, compared to 14–44% in sweet corn varieties.<ref name=ontario/>
==Cultivars== {{Main|List of sweetcorn varieties}}
Open pollinated (non-hybrid) corn has largely been replaced in the commercial market by sweeter, earlier hybrids, which also have the advantage of maintaining their sweet flavor longer. ''su'' cultivars are best when cooked within 30 minutes of harvest. Despite their short storage life, many open-pollinated cultivars such as 'Golden Bantam' remain popular for home gardeners and specialty markets or are marketed as heirloom seeds. Although less sweet, they are often described as more tender and flavorful than hybrids.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
===Genetics=== {{more references|section|date=November 2025}} {{hatnote|In the following text, lowercase gene names indicate the recessive, loss-of-function mutants. The UniProt links provided are for the regular wild-type genes.}} [[File:Sweet White Corn.jpg|thumb|200px|Cut white sweet corn. "Shoepeg" is a popular cultivar from the 1900s.]]
Early cultivars, including those used by Native Americans, were the result of the mutant ''su'' ("sugary") or ''su1'' ({{UniProt|O22637}}) allele of an isoamylase.<ref name="RJSch"/>
''Supersweet corn'' are cultivars of sweet corn which produce higher than normal levels of sugar developed by University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign professor John Laughnan.<ref name="DLLarson"/> He was investigating two specific genes in sweet corn, one of which, the ''sh2'' mutation ({{UniProt|P55241}}, a Glucose-1-phosphate adenylyltransferase), caused the corn to shrivel when dry. After further investigation, Laughnan discovered that the endosperm of ''sh2'' sweet corn kernels store less starch and from 4 to 10 times more sugar than normal ''su'' sweet corn.<ref name="DLLarson"/>
Illinois Foundation Seeds Inc. was the first seed company to release a supersweet corn named 'Illini Xtra Sweet', but widespread use of supersweet hybrids did not occur until the early 1980s.{{cn|date=July 2025}} The common use of supersweet corn rose due to its long shelf life and large sugar content when compared to conventional sweet corn. This has allowed the long-distance shipping of sweet corn and has enabled manufacturers to can sweet corn without adding extra sugar or salt.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}} Breeding has resolved the germination rate issue, but it is still generally true that ''sh2'' corn is less juicy than their ''su'' counterparts. ''sh2-i'' ("shrunken2-intermediate") cultivars under development exploits a different mutation on the same gene to create varieties that are both juicy and sweet.{{cn|date=July 2025}}
The third gene mutation to be discovered is the ''se'' (or ''se1'') for "sugary enhanced" allele, responsible for so-called "Everlasting Heritage" cultivars, such as 'Kandy Korn'. Cultivars with the ''se'' alleles have a longer storage life and contain 12–20% sugar.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}} The gene for ''Se1'' has been located.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Xia |last2=Mogel |first2=Karl J. Haro von |last3=Lor |first3=Vai S. |last4=Hirsch |first4=Candice N. |last5=De Vries |first5=Brian |last6=Kaeppler |first6=Heidi F. |last7=Tracy |first7=William F. |last8=Kaeppler |first8=Shawn M. |title=Maize sugary enhancer1 ( se1 ) is a gene affecting endosperm starch metabolism |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=8 October 2019 |volume=116 |issue=41 |pages=20776–20785 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1902747116|pmid=31548423 |pmc=6789923 |bibcode=2019PNAS..11620776Z |doi-access=free }}</ref>
thumb|200px|Cooking turns yellow sweet corn golden
All of the alleles responsible for sweet corn are recessive, so it must be isolated from other corn, such as field corn and popcorn, that release pollen at the same time; the endosperm develops from genes from both parents, and heterozygous kernels will be tough and starchy. The ''se'' and ''su'' alleles do not need to be isolated from each other. However supersweet cultivars containing the ''sh2'' allele must be grown in isolation from other cultivars to avoid cross-pollination and resulting starchiness, either in space (various sources quote minimum quarantine distances from 100 to 400 feet or 30 to 120 m) or in time (i.e., the supersweet corn does not pollinate at the same time as other corn in nearby fields).{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
Modern breeding methods have also introduced cultivars incorporating multiple gene types: *''sy'' (for ''synergistic'') adds the ''sh2'' gene to some kernels (usually 25%) on the same cob as a ''se'' base (either homozygous or heterozygous) *''augmented sh2'' adds the ''se'' and ''su'' gene to a ''sh2'' parent Often seed producers of the ''sy'' and ''augmented sh2'' types will use brand names or trademarks to distinguish these cultivars instead of mentioning the genetics behind them. Generally these brands or trademarks will offer a choice of white, bi-color and yellow cultivars which otherwise have very similar characteristics.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
===Genetically modified corn=== Genetically modified sweet corn is available to commercial growers to resist certain insects or herbicides, or both. Such transgenic varieties are not available to home or small acreage growers due to protocols that must be followed in their production.<ref name="ncga">{{cite web|title= Insect Resistance Management Fact Sheet For Bt Corn|url= http://www.ncga.com/managing-bt-technology|access-date= 2015-06-03|publisher= National Corn Growers Association|archive-date= 2015-05-09|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150509045144/http://www.ncga.com/managing-bt-technology|url-status= dead}}</ref>
== See also == * Frozen vegetables
==References== {{Reflist}} {{Wikispecies|Zea mays}} {{Corn}}
==External links== * [http://www.maizegdb.org/ Maize Genetics and Genomics Database] * [http://maizecoop.cropsci.uiuc.edu/ Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center] * {{GRIN}}
Category:Maize Category:Vegetables Category:Crops originating from indigenous Americans Category:Crops originating from North America Category:Crops originating from the United States Category:Grasses of Mexico Category:Grasses of North America Category:Grasses of the United States Category:Agriculture in Mesoamerica Category:Cuisine of the Northeastern United States Category:Symbols of Illinois