History
Sweet corn occurs as a spontaneous mutation in field corn and was grown by several Native American tribes. The Iroquois gave the first recorded sweet corn (called Papoon) to European settlers in 1779. It soon became a popular food in southern and central regions of the United States.
Open pollinated varieties of white sweet corn started to become widely available in the United States in the 19th century. Two of the most enduring varieties, still available today, are Country Gentleman (a Shoepeg corn with small, white kernels in irregular rows) and Stowell's Evergreen.
Sweet corn production in the 20th century was influenced by the following key developments:
- hybridization allowed for more uniform maturity, improved quality and disease resistance
- identification of the separate gene mutations responsible for sweetness in corn and the ability to breed varieties based on these characteristics:
- su (normal sugary)
- se (sugary enhanced, originally called Everlasting Heritage)
- sh2 (shrunken-2)
There are currently hundreds of varieties, with more constantly being developed.
Read more about this topic: Sweet Corn
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“These anyway might think it was important
That human history should not be shortened.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now.”
—Richard M. Nixon (b. 1913)
“Jesus Christ belonged to the true race of the prophets. He saw with an open eye the mystery of the soul. Drawn by its severe harmony, ravished with its beauty, he lived in it, and had his being there. Alone in all history he estimated the greatness of man.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)