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Maize and cornmeal (ground dried maize) constitute a staple food in many regions of the world. [6] Maize is used to produce the food ingredient cornstarch. [98] Maize starch can be hydrolyzed and enzymatically treated to produce high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener. [99] Maize may be fermented and distilled to produce Bourbon whiskey. [100]
Some foods have always been common in every continent, such as many seafood and plants. Examples of these are honey, ants, mussels, crabs and coconuts. Nikolai Vavilov initially identified the centers of origin for eight crop plants, subdividing them further into twelve groups in 1935.
Maize relies on humans for its propagation. Since the Columbian exchange, it has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of wheat and rice. Much maize is used for animal feed, whether as grain or as the whole plant, which can either be baled or made into the more palatable silage.
Zea species are used as food plants by the larvae (caterpillars) of some Lepidopteran species including (in the Americas) the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), the corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea), and the stem borers Diatraea and Chilo; in the Old World, it is attacked by the double-striped pug, the cutworms heart and club and heart and ...
Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) ground from dried corn (maize). It is a common staple food and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but it is not as fine as wheat flour can be. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] In Mexico and Louisiana, very finely ground cornmeal is referred to as corn flour .
The soaked maize is then rinsed thoroughly to remove the unpalatable flavor of the alkali. This process is nixtamalization, and it produces hominy, which is ground into a relatively dry dough to create fresh masa. The fresh masa can be sold or used directly, or can be dehydrated and blended into a powder to create masa harina, or masa flour.
The production of corn (Zea mays mays, also known as "maize") plays a major role in the economy of the United States. The US is the largest corn producer in the world, with 96,000,000 acres (39,000,000 ha) of land reserved for corn production. Corn growth is dominated by west/north central Iowa and east central Illinois. Approximately 13% of ...
The food served at these gatherings included, alongside a variety of other plants and animals, several domesticated squash varieties, maize, and wild beans. [26] Food that needed to be processed, like cornmeal, would commonly be prepared at the feast site alongside non-food items that gave the feasts ritual or ceremonial importance. [26]