Corn

Corn is the fresh ear or loose kernels of sweet maize, arranged in tight rows of pale to golden yellow. Kernels are juicy and crisp with gentle sweetness that pops when bitten; cook by boiling, grilling, or roasting, or shave raw into salads and salsas. Sold on the cob or as trimmed kernels, with husk and silk often left on for grilling.

Domesticated in Mesoamerica from teosinte, sweet corn became a warm-season staple across North America and spread worldwide after the Columbian exchange. Modern production favors tender, sugar-retaining hybrids grown for late-spring through early-fall harvests.