Corn Husk

Dried corn husks are pale tan, papery leaves from maize ears used as pliable wrappers in cooking. Soaked until flexible, they lend a faint corn aroma and hold fillings securely for steaming or grilling; cooks use them to wrap tamales, enclose fish or vegetables, or line steamer baskets, and they are sold as whole dried husks sized for tamales.\n\nMaize was domesticated in Mesoamerica, and cooks across Mexico and Central America developed the practice of drying and using husks as cooking wrappers. The technique spread with Mexican cuisine, and commercial producers dry and sort husks after harvest for year-round distribution.