Notable Differences Between Corn and Maize You Should Know

Filed in Education by on December 30, 2022

Do you know there is a notable difference between Corn And Maize? Although, Corn and maize are used interchangeably. Continue reading for more.

Difference Between Corn And Maize

About Corn and Maize

The word “maize” comes from the original name of the plant given by the Taino, one of the indigenous peoples of the Bahamas and Antilles islands. In British English, the word “corn,” simply means cereal.

The root of the English word corn is the proto-Germanic “kurnam,” which also evolved across a period of centuries into the words kernel and grain.

In England, the word was generally used to denote wheat, while in Scotland it was oats, and in parts of Germany “korn” was understood to mean rye.

Corn

In many countries, corn is the name given to the leading crop grown in certain districts. Also, in England, it is wheat, while in Scotland and Ireland, it relates to oats. In the Bible, corn is nothing but wheat.

However, in the USA and Canada corn and maize are one and the same and are meant for the plant that produces kernels used for cooking.  But, the term corn is preferred over maize for food products.

However, with regard to commodity trading, corn is only maize and does not include any other grains.  In culinary, corn is generally mentioned as sweet corn, popcorn, cornflakes, baby corn, dent corn, etc.

Maize

Maize was domesticated over 7,000 years ago in what is now Mexico from a wild grass called teosinte. It is vastly easier to cultivate than other grains, requiring no laborious cutting and threshing.

Maize

Its cultivation spread throughout Central and North America, where Columbus discovered it and brought it back to Europe.

The name maize originated with the indigenous Taino people in the Caribbean and is the name used in most European languages to denote “Indian corn,” or grain from the New World.

Maize originated from its Mexican variant called teosinte.  It has a single erect solid stem with long and narrow leaves that grow alternately, whereas the teosinte is small and bushy.

Teosinte and maize can be subjected to cross-breeding to make fertile offspring. Maize is now considered to be one of the main grain crops in the world.

Ancient farmers in Mexico are known to be the first to domesticate maize.  They noticed that the plants were not at all the same in appearance. Some grew larger than others, and some kernels were tastier.

So they selected the best ones that got desired characteristics and cultivated them for the next harvest season.  This process was called selective breeding, from which modern maize originated.

Difference Between Corn And Maize

1. Corn is the term that describes cereal in British English.

2. Word “corn” has many meanings relying on geographical areas.

3. Corn is a crop that is produced throughout the United Kingdom whereas Maize is extensively cultivated in America in many varieties; the principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America.

4. Word Maize is frequent in nations like New Zealand, Canada, and the United States whereas Corn is frequent in European nations.

5. Maize is a time interval that is utilized for the plant which is not cooked or nonetheless raw on the branches of the cob whereas corn is the phrase that is used for the maize which has been cooked.

It might be widely accepted that corn and maize are the same things but this article has successfully proven that there are differences between maize and corn.

CSN Team.

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