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Jakarta Post

Corn, the other staple

One of the most appreciated staple foods in Indonesia next to rice is corn

(The Jakarta Post)
Sun, December 13, 2009

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Corn, the other staple

O

ne of the most appreciated staple foods in Indonesia next to rice is corn. In its development as one of the main staples, corn has become not just one important ingredient for main dishes, but also part of a wide range of very delicious between-meal savories.

The basic corn variety grows well in tropical climates, and corn in Indonesia has developed into many varieties.

One of the newer ones is sweet corn, which grows in cool hilly regions. The kernels are softer than regular corn kernels, which have to be softened through overnight soaking or being boiled.

As with many other crops introduced from further afield, corn was brought to Indonesia by Chinese, European, Arab and Indian traders.

The country's corn-growing regions are scattered across East and Central Java, South Sulawesi, East and West Nusa Tenggara, North South and West Sumatra, and Lampung.

Softer-kernel varieties are more popular in Indonesia, as most people here don't like the hard, al dente kernels. A popular type is flint corn, with it's round and pearly kernels of a reddish, white or yellow hue. This variety is also popular in Italy, Portugal, the Balkans and Central and South America.

Other varieties preferred here are hybrids, such as Cargill 3 (C-3), Cargill 2 (C-2) and the so-called King Corn.

Young corn cobs, or baby corn, are widely used in everyday cooking here. These smaller cobs were previously not considered fit for harvest, and were used as cattle feed. But as farmers' wives began collecting and making soupy dishes from them, their popularity caught on.

Known by different names depending on the region, baby corn is harvested much earlier than regular mature cobs. As it grew in popularity, many farmers began focusing solely on baby corn. Certain varieties are excellent for this purpose, including the CPI-1, which yields 3-7 tons per hectare on dry fields and 3-10 tons in wet paddies.

About a week after detasseling, the first small cobs appear, and after two days can be harvested.

There are three harvests a year. The second is often considered the most important, while the third yields lower-quality produce.

Baby corn is also recommended for its nutritional content. A hundred grams of baby corn contain 33 calories, 22 g of protein, 0.1 g of fat, 7.4 g of carbohydrate, 7 mg of calcium, 100 mg of phosphor, 0.5 mg of iron, 200 IU of vitamin A, 0.08 g of vitamin B, 8 mg of vitamin C and 89.5 g of water. Baby corn therefore makes for an excellent low-calorie food.

In traditional Chinese medicine, baby corn is used as a stomach tonic and promotes urination. Regular consumption of corn is believed to make the heart stronger; kidney ailments can also be relieved by drinking 15 grams of corn kernels boiled in three glasses of water over low heat until reduced to one glass. This should be drunk twice a day (Henry C. Lu). Thirty grams of corn leaves boiled over low heat for about 20 minutes relieves urinary tract problems.

While writing this article and seeking more information about corn, it was very interesting to know that corn often refers not only to the cobs of corn most of us are familiar with.

Waverly Root, the famous author of many scientific culinary works like The Food of France and The Food of Italy, says in his book Food that corn is very possibly not what you think it is: it depends on where you live.

In America, corn is maize. But if you subscribe to pure Oxford English, it likely means wheat, and if you're in Scotland or Ireland, then it means oats.

For residents of northern Germany, their corn is rye.

Vollkornbrot means black bread made from the whole kernel of rye. But over in southern Germany vollkornbrot means bread made from any coarsely ground unpolished grain, often wheat. In southern Africa, corn means millet in the Bantu tongue.

Root adds that corn basically means "grain", thus each locality interprets it as standing for its own most familiar cereal.

Over in the Netherlands, corn is interpreted as koren or wheat. Maize as we know it is mais in Dutch. Among traditional Javanese communities, corn is sometimes seen from different viewpoints.

First, it is considered a very useful plant traditionally sown after the rice harvest. But it is also believed to be a plant symbolizing less favorable things: because of the relatively short period between sowing and harvest, which only takes about three months, corn has come to epitomize a short life or period.

The Javanese idiom seumur jagung - the lifetime of corn - has come to mean a very brief period. Thus at weddings, corn is never served, as it augurs ill for the couple's longevity.

One underappreciated part of the corn cob is the reddish silk of common corn varieties. Formerly when one commented on a girl with reddish hair, one likened it to the corn silk.

But this was in the past, and nowadays imported sweet corn seedlings produce with rather light or fair corn silk! And furthermore, today it is the trend to color one's hair red!

Corn husks are useful in preparing snacks because they are very aromatic wrappings for traditional snacks. One of these is the cone-shaped lepet jaghung from Madura.

Outside the kitchen area, corn or rather its outer husk is very much sought after by older chain smokers, because the husk or kelobot is the most important ingredient for rolling kelobot cigarettes.

Back in the kitchen, corn fritters are one of those classical foodstuffs served throughout Indonesia, mainly in Java. They are good as a snack, and great with other dishes or with steamed white rice.

The best corn fritters are believed to come from the northern East Java coastal region and the island of Madura, because corn has long been a staple there and is used in all kinds of dishes, even mixed with rice. Jaghung (with a strong accent on the "gh") is Madura's best staple!

This is the recipe: Boil 200 g previously soaked ground corn in 600 ml water until tender. Mix 100 g white rice, 250 ml water and a screwpine leaf. Bring to a boil. Steam until done. Note: When using kernels of the sweet corn variety, soaking is not necessary.

Have a taste of nasi jaghung; eaten with any kind of curry, it really is seumur jagung or finished in no time!

For us in Indonesia, corn really is one of our favorite staples.

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