Baby corn facts for kids
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Baby corn is also called young corn or cornlets. It's a type of grain that comes from corn. Unlike regular corn, baby corn is picked very early. This happens when the corn stalks are still small.
You can eat baby corn whole, including the soft inner cob. The cob of mature corn is usually too hard to eat. Baby corn can be eaten raw, pickled, or cooked. It is often found in stir fry dishes.
Contents
How Baby Corn is Grown
There are two main ways to grow baby corn.
Growing Baby Corn as a Main Crop
One way is to plant a special type of corn seed. These seeds are chosen to grow only baby corn. Many kinds of corn can be used. But some types are better because they grow more ears per plant.
Growing Baby Corn as a Second Crop
Another way is to grow baby corn alongside regular sweet corn or field corn. For this method, the top ear of corn is left to grow big. But the second ear from the top is picked early as baby corn.
When to Harvest Baby Corn
Baby corn ears are picked by hand. This happens as soon as the corn silks appear. Sometimes they are picked a few days after. Corn grows very fast. So, farmers must pick baby corn at just the right time. This stops the ears from getting too big and mature.
Baby corn ears are usually about 4.5–10 cm (1+3⁄4–4 in) long. They are also about 0.7 to 1.7 cm (1⁄4–3⁄4 in) wide.
What Baby Corn is Used For
People all over the world enjoy eating baby corn.
The green parts of the baby corn plant can also be used. They can be fed fresh to farm animals. Or they can be stored as silage for later use.
