Daqing corn

Zea mays, an annual cereal plant of Maydeae in Poaceae, originated in North, Central and South America. The plants are tall, the stems are strong and straight. The leaves are narrow and large, with wavy edges and alternate on both sides of the stem. Male inflorescence spikes terminal. The female flowers are axillary and mature into ears of grain. The corn has a thick central axis, and the spikelets develop into two rows of grains after being paired in columns. The ear of the grain is covered with many layers of abnormal leaves, which are called foreskin. The seeds are edible. Commercial grades are mainly divided according to the texture of seeds, which are divided into horse tooth species, hard species, silty species, bursting species, waxy corn, sweet corn and so on. The depression at the top of the grain is caused by the unequal dryness of hard starch and soft starch in the grain. Hard corn contains less soft starch, and the top does not sag after drying. Silty corn mainly contains soft starch, which is silty and easy to crush. Sweet corn is wrinkled and transparent, and sugar is not converted into starch. Popped corn is an extreme type of hard corn, with small and hard grains and no soft starch. When heated, the water in the cells expands and the grains burst. Hybridization with excellent inbred lines can improve maize types. Corn is used as feed, food and industrial raw materials, and it is the main food in many areas, but its nutritional value is lower than other cereals, and its protein content is also low, and it lacks nicotinic acid. If corn is used as the main food, it is prone to pellagra. The protein of corn is too low to make bread. In Latin America, corn is widely used as unfermented tortillas. Corn is eaten all over the United States and made into boiled (or baked) corn cobs, creamy corn flakes, corn grits (corn grits are made in the south), corn pudding, corn paste, corn porridge, scones, corn patties, popcorn, cakes and other foods. In addition to food, corn is also the main raw material of industrial alcohol and shochu. There are many ways to process seeds: wet grinding method is to soak seeds in dilute sulfurous acid solution for 40-60 hours; Dry grinding method is to wet the seeds for a short time by spraying or steam; Fermentation is to convert starch into sugar, and then add yeast to convert sugar into alcohol. Other parts of the plant are also widely used: corn stalks are used for paper making and wallboard making; The foreskin can be used as filling material and grass weaving; Corn cob can be used as fuel and industrial solvent, and the stems and leaves are not only used as livestock feed, but also good raw materials for biogas digesters.
Reprinted with attribution： https://cnlocality.com/(Chinese Specialty Products)