You may wonder whether you can eat raw corn. Yes, you can. The corn on the cob is one of the enjoyable ways you get to know a healthy, tasty, and nutritious food. Sweet corn harvested directly from the farm is safe to have. The corn is tender, juicy, and milky having a special taste when taken raw.
However, if you are in a city, you have to assure that the source is clean and that the corncob is a harvest of the right age for eating raw. Sweet corn is best from spring to early summer. However, do not get surprised if someone gives you maize, because it goes by that name in many parts of the world.
What Kind of Food is Corn?
Corn also called maize is a popular cultivated plant grown almost all over the world. Corn belongs to the grass family with 12, 000 species, with 5 kernel types. The two major types are sweet corn and pod corn.
Sweet corn is a favorite food of vegans, tastes lovely with butter and cheese. The pod corn serves as food for the livestock industry. The processing of corn leads to the production of starch, corn oil, beverage, sweeteners, industrial alcohol, and even alcohol for fuel.
The Nutritive Value of Raw Corn
The nutritive value of raw corn is worth mentioning. Each cup of the kernel (164g) supplies 177calories, 41 g carbohydrate, 5.4 g protein, 2.1 g fat, and 4.6 g fiber. The same amount fulfills 17% of the daily value (DV) of Vitamin C in the human diet. Besides 1 cup, also fulfill 24 and 19% DV of thiamine and folate, respectively. The magnesium and potassium content are also high fulfilling 11 and 10% of the daily value, respectively.
The sweet corn being edible raw, the body gets a balanced intake of nutrients, some of which would be lost due to cooking. As corn is gluten-free, it is an excellent source of carbohydrates for people who are allergic to gluten.
Although pod corn is also high in nutrition, processing before consumption results in loss of nutrients. Most goes for livestock feed. The pod corn undergoes industrial processing into flakes, corn flour, which is less nutritious than the raw corn.
How Can You Eat Raw Corn?
To get the benefits of raw corn, there are some easy to serve but excellent ways of eating corn. If you are close to a farm, you can cut the cob right from the field, peel off the leaves, and have. Let us see some other ways of having raw corn.
1. Corn on the Cob
Can you imagine that having corn on the cob is enjoyable? The best taste is the young filled-out cobs soft enough to tear with your teeth. After cutting off the head, remove the covering husks and the silk. Wash the cob and bite the fresh kernels. To enhance the taste you can salt and pepper. The sweet and the fresh flavor is indulging.
2. Soup with Raw Corn
Raw corn goes well with vegetable soup, especially cold soup. Otherwise, you may add the raw corn kernels with any mixed vegetable soup blended with herbs and spices. Raw corn goes well with carrot and basil to give it a colored look and spicy taste.
3. Salad with Raw Corn
Salads usually work as a great appetizer especially if it is crunchy. The raw corn gives a crunchy, juicy feeling under the teeth. For making the salad, you can use vegetables and fruits. The easy way to do this is by dicing the green, red and yellow bell peppers, and top with kernels of corn, cilantro. To give it a smooth taste you can wrap the salad with your favorite dressing.
In a meal, the salad with raw corn is a good start even for non-veggies.
4. Ice Cream with Raw Corn
Some veggies have found out a unique way of having raw corn with ice cream. Fresh corn kernels sprinkled on top of ice cream tastes great on a summer day. The corn kernels are soft and milky, so they blend well with ice cream especially if it is a preparation from a vegan mix.
5. Raw Corn with Dips.
Take out a bowl of the raw corn kernel. Make a creamy dip with mayonnaise and your favorite garnishes, such as pepper, pimento, onion, garlic cut into small pieces. Add the kernels. Break the chips and add to the dip lightly. Serve while the raw corn kernels and chips remain fresh.
6. Pasta Salad with Raw Corn
Boil the pasta and drain off the water. Prepare proportionate parts of tomato, bell pepper, green beans, and carrot. Slightly boil the beans and green pepper. Mix the vegetables with pasta. Add mayonnaise to make it creamy. Add the raw corn and mix. Serve in a salad bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. This is a lovely filling salad to go with for lunch.
7. Raw Corn Pizza
Raw corn kernels are the perfect dressing for pizza. Prepare as the recipe calls for. Paste the dough into a pizza pan. Pour the mixture of mozzarella cheese, raw corn, and garlic. Sprinkle with spices and bake.
Serve slices on plates. Tastes great with tomato sauce.
Conclusion
Now you know that you can have raw corn fresh from the farm. Fresh raw corn can be one of the best ways of having nutritious food. The nutritive value of corn makes it a favorite of veggies and non-veggies. You need to watch out for the season.
Raw corn is full of nutrients and amino acids that make a healthy additive to the diet. Unlike wheat and rye, people who have allergic to gluten-rich food highly appreciated the gluten-free carbohydrate in corn. The fresh taste of raw corn is by itself tasty. The recipes provided are to facilitate you find the different ways you can have raw corn and enjoy it!
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