kernel and grain and has the same broad
meaning; so “corned” beef is beef cured
with grains of salt. “Corn” is also used in
different parts of Britain as shorthand for
the most important grain of the region.
Only in the United States did it come to
refer exclusively to maize.
The different kinds of corn also come in
various colors, some of which were originally
selected by native Americans for ceremonial
use. The interior is usually either
unpigmented and white, or yellow with
nutritionally valuable fat-soluble carotenes
and xanthophylls (beta carotene, lutein,
zeaxanthin). Blue, purple, and red kernels
carry water-soluble anthocyanins in their
aleurone layer, the nutrient-rich cell layer just
under the hull.
Alkaline Treatment: Several Benefits Corn
is unusual among the grains for its large size,
and for the thickness and toughness of its