What is this plant, why are sweet corn dishes so popular? Useful properties of cereals, who are not recommended to introduce it into the diet. Dish recipes. Smokers are advised to introduce corn into their diet in order to get rid of toxins - their accumulations appear due to the constant intoxication of the body when inhaling combustion products. For people with chronic diarrhea, eating cereals can help stabilize bowel movements.
Harm and contraindications to the use of sweet corn
Not everyone can enjoy sweet corn dishes - there are some contraindications to it. The main one is individual intolerance. An allergic reaction can occur when a plant is flowering, when it comes into contact with leaf juice, when the product is eaten. Regardless of the type of allergic reaction and the time of its development, the use of cereal for food, for medicinal and cosmetic purposes in this case will have to be abandoned.
Other contraindications to the use of sweet corn:
- You can not enter into food corn with a decrease in appetite. It quickly creates a feeling of fullness, and the amount of food consumed will decrease even more.
- In case of peptic ulcer disease, gastritis with high acidity, erosive damage to the mucous membrane of the digestive organs, dishes with corn are not recommended to be added to the daily menu.
- Increased blood clotting is a contraindication for regular consumption of corn.
An intolerance to sweet corn can appear due to an unscrupulous manufacturer. When purchasing preservation, you need to carefully read what is written on the package. Currently, genetically modified products are often marketed in European countries and the United States.
You need to understand that sweet corn is not a medicine, so some tasty kernels can be added to a salad or hot dish, even with the above conditions. An exception is plant allergy. In this case, the contraindications to the use or use of sweet corn are absolute.
Sweet Corn Recipes
One of the positive properties of sweet corn is that it retains its useful substances in any form - cooked, raw, canned, in products made from flour. Therefore, the number of dishes prepared from this delicious cereal cannot be counted.
Milk corn porridge
The main dishes in which corn is the main ingredient are porridge. They can be cooked in different ways - over a fire, in an oven, or by evaporating water. The taste depends on the cooking method. Experts say that the most delicate grits are obtained in the oven.
Ingredients for the preparation of this dish:
- Corn grits - a little less than a glass;
- Milk - 0.5-0.75 l;
- Water - its amount depends on the amount of milk, 0.5-0.25 liters;
- Sugar - 3-4 tablespoons, can be replaced with honey;
- Butter - 2 tablespoons;
- Salt is a teaspoon.
First, the cereals are washed, poured over with cold water for 20 minutes. Then the water is changed, boiled until it boils away, and then the already warmed milk is added to the same pan. The porridge is boiled with milk until it thickens, adding salt and sugar. If sugar is planned to be replaced with honey, it is added after the porridge has been removed from the heat. At the same stage, the dish is seasoned with butter.
If milk porridge is planned to be cooked in the oven, then it is placed in an oven preheated to 200 ° C, when the water has already evaporated. Leave in the oven under the lid for 20 minutes, and then remove the lid to brown the surface.
Corn milk porridge will taste better if you add chopped dried fruits or nuts to it.
Corn porridge with pumpkin
Corn porridge with pumpkin is most useful for the body with a tendency to constipation, kidney disease. This dish has a mild diuretic effect, laxative effect, cleanses the body of toxins and toxins.
Ingredients for the dish:
- Corn grits - 1 cup;
- Pumpkin - 300 g;
- Milk - 3 glasses;
- Sugar - 1 tablespoon;
- Ghee butter - 1 tablespoon;
- Salt - 1 teaspoon.
Corn grits should be fried in a dry skillet to dry. As soon as it turns golden, it is removed from the pan, poured with hot milk and left to swell for 40-50 minutes.
At this time, you can deal with pumpkin. The ripe fruit is peeled of seeds, soft parts and rind, leaving a firm pulp. It is advisable to cut it into even cubes so that it cooks evenly. The pumpkin is mixed with sugar, put on low heat and brought to readiness. You can cook pumpkin in the oven, steam it.
The porridge is boiled, as in the first recipe, then, when it is ready, mixed with pumpkin and put in a warm place - in the oven at 40 ° C or under a pillow. After 15 minutes in the oven and 30 minutes under the pillow, the porridge will be ready. Sunflower oil is added to it before serving.
Diet Corn Porridge
If you cook corn porridge according to the following recipe, it can be added to the daily menu during a diet.
Ingredients:
- Corn grits - 0.5 cups;
- Hot water - a little more than 1, 5 glasses;
- Olive oil - 1 tablespoon;
- Raisins or cranberries - a handful;
- Sugar or honey to taste;
- Salt.
The raisins should first be washed and soaked so that they swell. Then it is laid out on a sheet and baked.
Corn porridge is boiled according to the first recipe, put in a baking dish, put in an oven. The process for preparing corn porridge is the same as for dairy in the oven, only water is used instead of milk. When a ruddy crust appears on the surface of the porridge, berries are added to the dish and allowed to brew for 15 minutes.
If cranberries are used instead of raisins, you do not need to bake them. Plus, you need more sugar.
Corn on the cob
Cooking corn on the cob is very simple: they are dipped in hot water and boiled until soft, rubbed with salt before use. If the cobs are baked, the dish will turn out to be more delicious.
Ingredients:
- Young corn on the cob - 3-4 pieces;
- Greens - dill, parsley, cilantro, mint, only 50 g;
- Butter - 100-120 g;
- Salt.
The greens are finely chopped, choosing a combination to taste. Mix it with melted butter, coating generously peeled and washed ears.
All ears are put into a roasting sleeve and put into the oven. Bake until tender at a temperature of 240 ° C. You can eat with your hands.
Harvesting corn for the winter
As mentioned, buying canned corn is dangerous. For those who like to add this cereal to salads, the following recipe for homemade preparations is offered.
The ears are husked, the grains are washed with running boiled water, put into a saucepan. Then pour boiling water and add salt - about 2/3 tablespoons per 1 liter of water, boil for 15 minutes.
Then the water is drained, the corn is washed with cold water, it is thrown into a colander. When it drains, the grains are unpacked in small portions in polyethylene bags and put into the refrigerator.
No additional heat treatment is required after defrosting.
Corn sticks
This wonderful dessert can be made with corn at home. Flour is purchased in a store or corn grains are dried in a dry frying pan until golden brown, and then they are ground in a coffee grinder.
Ingredients:
- Corn flour - 200 g;
- Milk - 150 ml;
- Eggs - 4 pieces;
- Butter - 100 g.
You should prepare a pastry syringe with a wide nozzle or a piping bag.
Cooking instructions:
- Milk with butter is brought to a boil over low heat, then removed from heat, poured, constantly stirring with a whisk, corn flour, put on fire again and brought to a boil, whisking.
- Beat eggs separately, add to the cooled dough, beat so that there are no lumps.
- Fill a pastry bag or syringe with the dough, form sticks, bake in the oven at a temperature of 170-180 ° C for up to 15 minutes.
- After cooking, sprinkle the dish with icing sugar.
Most often, canned corn is now added to salads, but they cannot be called "corn dishes". In this case, the canned cereal only improves the taste. Grains can be added to crab stick salad, chicken salad, garlic and mayonnaise, and others.
Interesting facts about sweet corn
They began to cultivate corn even before our era; the ancient agronomists managed to get large bulk cobs 55 thousand years ago. This cereal was brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus.
The ancient Indians and Mexicans called this cereal maize, by the way, its Latin biological name is also Zea mais. In its small homeland, corn grows up to 7 m tall. You can imagine the growth rate if you consider that the plant is annual!
Corn is a hermaphrodite plant. On one plant there are buds in the axils of the leaves - the feminine principle, as well as panicles - the masculine. When pollinated, the pollen enters the leaf axils, where the ears are tied. Corn is pollinated by the wind, and in agriculture, artificial pollination is carried out to get more ears.
The cobs of sweet corn contain an even number of flowers, respectively, the number of seeds is also an even number. But there are no more than 14 flowers, and there can be up to 1000 seeds-seeds!
Sweet corn lives up to its name only when fresh. 3, 5 buckets of fresh beans can sweeten 380 cans of Coca-Cola. 6 hours after picking, the sweetness is lost by half.
In medicine, stamens are valued - corn hair. They are used to treat the biliary tract, urinary system and intestines, they are used for the manufacture of various drugs - hepatoprotectors.
The ancient agronomists put a lot of effort into making us "healthier" with corn. The first plants were undersized, with open ears, the seeds from which crumbled after ripening. With insufficient crop care, modern corn, degenerating, returns to its original form.
How to eat sweet corn - watch the video:
Scientists believe that to strengthen immunity and maintain health, it is necessary to consume 3.7 kg of corn per year. This amount is enough to replenish the body's reserve with the necessary nutrients.
