On Food and Cooking

float in dissolved form in the cell fluids, yet
large enough that they bind up a lot of water
molecules and get in each other’s way, and
thus thicken the fluid to a creamy, smooth
consistency.
Traditional sweet corns derived from a
genetic trait that arose in the cultivated fields
of pre-Columbian South America, and that
reduced starch levels in the maturing fruits
while raising both sugar and soluble
polysaccharide levels. The fresh kernels were
thus sweeter and creamier than standard
corns. In the early 1960s, breeders in the
United States released new “super-sweet”
varieties, with very high sugar levels, little
starch, but also fewer soluble polysaccharides:
so their kernel fluids are less creamy and
more watery (see box). Super-sweet varieties
have the advantage of losing less sweetness
during shipping and storage — in three days,
traditional sweet corn converts half of its
sweet sugar into tasteless chains — but some