be a-maize-d
My first jelly-bean coloured corn
Rainbow coloured kernels resembling jelly beans – this is the only way I can describe glass gem corn (or maize). This is my last maize harvest before winter, and frankly I am surprised I could still harvest maize this late into autumn. I usually harvest the last of my maize end at the end of March, but this year, I decided to push it. I only planted this maize in early February, and while I plant maize every year, this was a variety of maize that I was trying for the first time.
Glass gem corn is an heirloom variety of corn, but I have found little information about this maize in South Africa, or its colour genetics. I didn’t even know how to cook it when I sowed it, but its colour won me over; even if I didn’t eat it, I just wanted to grow it! I used the same methods as I use to grow other varieties of corn like sweetcorn, and while the stalks didn’t produce big ears, I was satisfied with the result of my first attempt at that late stage of the growing season.
The lack of information about this variety of maize got me thinking about the dangers of mono-cropping, and even GMOs in commercial agricultural practices, especially as they relate to maize. You don’t find this maize in the supermarket, and some online reports from fellow gardeners indicate that it is ornamental rather than edible. I beg to differ with this because I have boiled and eaten it, and while the flavour wasn’t remarkable, it was certainly edible. That said, it might be better suited for popping or grinding into maize meal. Many other varieties of maize have more flavour, and aren’t as tough, so perhaps that may be why this variety isn’t popular with commercial growers.
This calls to mind a TedTalk I watched a few years ago by a fantastic writer named Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie titled, ‘The Danger of a Single Story’. Adichie asserts that media and literature that is widely accessible by the public often tells one story, thus causing people to make generalisations and assumptions about groups of people, on the basis of that singular narrative. When I shared photos of this maize with some friends, many of them were surprised that it was real. They thought I’d tampered with the photo because in all their lives, they have only seen maize that is yellow. Like human beings, maize is not all the same. There are many varieties of maize that look and taste different, and that serve different culinary and ornamental purposes.
It makes you wonder what other interesting things people don’t know about the food we eat just because we think that food comes from a supermarket and that what is sold commercially is all there is available for consumption. The power of growing your own food in a garden is that it opens you up to a world of different kinds of food, many of them unknown, and you can grow them sustainably at a fraction of the cost of buying them from specialist shops.
Give yourself a chance to try something new. Next spring, why not get yourself a packet of glass gem corn seeds to sow and enjoy in the summer? If nothing else, you’ll enjoy the colours and it will be a fun topic for conversation at the kitchen table. Lastly, if you have any tips on how to cook glass gem corn, please leave me a comment or a message. I’ll be planting it again in summer!