Why the 'nostalgic flavor' of this heirloom corn is causing a resurgence

[Major Nikon]

1. You can't really compare this kind of corn with sweet corn

You can eat sweet corn raw, but most people are going to heat it up at least for a few minutes. Flint corn requires hours of boiling or processing into hominy, corn meal, masa, etc.

If you go to Peru you can find several types of corn that is edible in the same way hybrid sweet corn is in the US. Primary you find choclo which is much tougher and less sweet than hybrid corn. Peruvian cooks use it in all sorts of dishes and use it in very interesting ways. Most corn in the Americas can trace its roots back to varieties developed by the Incas. They actually had corn development farms where they created varieties that could be grown all over their empire in drastically different conditions.

Personally I’m a big fan of Native American corn varieties. I can’t say it’s a replacement for hybrid corn, but definitely a compliment.