Maize, or Indian Corn Plant
Giclee Print
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Fresh Picked Sweet Corn
Art Print
Brown, David...
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Produce at an...
Nancy & Steve...
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"Corn Harvest," Saturday Evening Post Cover, October 9, 1948
Mead Schaeffer
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In the course of writing “Ugly Americans?” this on Independence Day 2002, I found myself contemplating the intriguing question: Just exactly what IS American food? Almost as impossible a question as “What is an American?” due to the vast and complex diversity we enjoy. And, of course, I am referring not only to North American food, but more specifically to U. S. American food.
During my tenure in Germany I found the knee-jerk response to this question to
be “hamburgers,” or “hot dogs,” or both. In the minds of a great many Europeans, these two foods constitute our sustenance in the good ole (unenlightened) US of A.
Hamburger:
We have not researched this extensively, but I am sure nonetheless that the reference is to the city of Hamburg, Germany. Ground meat Hamburg style.
Frankfurter/Wiener:
 Once again, no extensive research, but Frankfurter is only half of the term, i.e. Frankfurter Wurst. The same goes for Wiener, only this time the reference is to Wien/Vienna, Austria. Viennese Wurst, if you will. We just dropped the “wurst”.
Potato:
American, yes. North American, no. That goes for both the sweet potato and
the so-called “Irish” potato. Courtesy of The Food Museum, we offer you the
following potato facts:
" Sweets: The Other Potato
The American plant that saved China and Japan from famine is also an integral part of the food history of the southern United States. A member of the morning glory family, the sweet potato was one of the first foods Columbus ate in the Americas."
"Better than Gold: The Potato
The world's most important vegetable, the potato may have influenced history more than any other food. The American native made the massive Inca empire possible, underpinned the European Industrial Revolution, created the discipline of plant pathology, prolonged World War I and was key to the downfall of Poland's Communist regime."
Corn:
This is it, right? Has to be! Well, yes and no. American, yes, but once again the
origin is Central – not North – America.
"Amazing Maize!
America's contribution to the world's edible grasses, corn or maize is the ingredient most prevalent in the processed foods eaten in North America. Native to Mexico or Central America, corn is also a powerful source of industrial products. The United States grows half the world's corn."

“And those who came were resolved
to be Englishmen
Gone to the World’s end,
but English every one,
And they ate of the white corn kernels,
parched in the sun,
And they knew it not,
But they’d not be English again.”
~ from “Western Star” by Stephen Vincent Benet

Close enough, I’ve decided. It appears to me that the United States, Mexico in particular, and Central America in general, have made corn/maize their own more than any other countries on the globe. At least that is true enough for me to be content with doing this month’s feature on corn. (It occurs to me that squash may
well be the most “American” food of all, but this month we shall concentrate on
corn anyway and save squash for another time.)
Corn is grown in Europe, of course, but very seldom consumed straight from the
field by humans. The Italians have found a way to love it: Polenta! A great com-
fort food to be sure. By and large, though, Europeans seem to consider corn  just
so much fodder – excellent sustenance for pigs and cows. (This is based on my per-
sonal experience – not intended to be authoritative. No righteous-indignation mail
please.) Obviously those making such a ridiculous assessment have yet to spend a
summer feasting on fresh sweet corn in the (U.S.) American Midwest. Makes my
mouth water just to think about it!
One of my favorite cooks, authors, gardeners, and creators of beauty in general,
is a zealous gentleman named Lee Bailey. Last I heard he was making his home
in New York and Miami, but he is a Louisiana native. His Southern heritage
comes through loud and clear. Among his many charms is the desire and ability
to entertain dinner guests with ease and grace.
As if that were not enough, Mr. Bailey is also a fellow corn aficionado. He is, in
fact, crazy enough about corn to have written a cookbook entirely devoted to that delectable vegetable. It is our distinct pleasure to pass some of his favorite corn recipes on to you.
 

“I’d hazard a guess that, along with vine-ripened tomatoes, just-picked corn
steamed on the cob must be on the top of everyone’s Favorite Summer
Vegetables list. O.K. O.K. I know tomatoes are technically fruit, but what
you have here is poetic license.
Whatever, corn seems to make us all behave like kids with butter on our
noses. Remember being told to calm down because you and your cousins had
got too rambunctious, vying to see who could chomp down and back a row
of corn kernels the fastest? Obviously this didn’t have too much to do with
gracious dining. This was corn as sport…”

“Honestly, is there anyone out there who doesn’t think
corn on the cob is one of the best things about summer?”

“Barbecued corn on the cob is specialty of Troy Wilson, chef-
owner of Grandville Café in Charleston, South Carolina.”

 “You can use green peppers for this, but I like the way red or
yellow ones look. And they are slightly sweeter in taste. Either
way, choose peppers that will stand easily.”

“Serve this as a main course with a salad, as a side dish for a larger
meal – say, with grilled meats or sausages – or as a first course.”

“This is another of our family recipes. My Aunt Freddie
used to make it every year.”