Harvested about 7 ears of purple corn a few days ago...
Yes, seven teeny weeny corns...
It is a big achievement for me as the previous crop was destroyed by a typhoon...
These plants were grown from the last of the seeds given to me by a former student from Peru...
If I had failed, there would be no more seeds left for me to try... phew...
Being the curious me, I did a search on the net and found some interesting information from this site.
There are apparently few purple plants found in nature, and purple corn is one of them.
How many can you name?
Blueberries, mulberries, purple eggplant, purple sweet potatoes, prunes?The purple corn is considered a Peruvian crop which is grown in the highlands of Peru.
The exciting thing about the purple corn is that they are packed with 'phytonutrients'.
This include large amounts of 'phenolics' and 'anthocyanins'...
Hmm, pretty bombastic terminology for me, I must say... :)
Anyway, crops having high phenolic and anthocyanin elements are deemed to have high antioxidant activity.
And purple corn is believed to have higher antioxidant properties than blueberries...
I am drying the corn now and planning to consume it bit by bit...
My missus had tried putting a few kernels into the rice pot to cook with the rice, and what beautiful colors the cooked rice turned out to be...
Tonight, I have requested my missus to make me some purple corn drink...
I understand that this purple corn drink is called Chicha Morada in Peru, and that it is their 'national softdrink'...
For sure, there will be more 'experiments' with purple corns in the potager in the future...
This post is linked to Monday Harvest...
This post is linked to Monday Harvest...
How exciting, we grow a variety called Blue Jade corn but your purple corn is much darker. What you said about it being higher in antioxiants than bluberries is really interesting...a lot different than your average pale yellow corn found on the store shelves. Enjoy your well earned corn harvest.
ReplyDeleteHow odd it is to have a purple corn.
ReplyDeleteHave not seen one before.
Since it provides so many health benifits, I hope purple corm become readily available really, really soon. I would love to try it.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful photos! I would love to grow something like that!
ReplyDeletewell done with your purple corn, I'm just hoping for some yellow corn to grow this year! To add to your list of purple veges: purple carrot and Black Russian tomatoes are kind of purple :)
ReplyDeleteDelightful purple corn Lrong!
ReplyDeleteI've bought purple "white" potatoes at the market. They have a bit of a different texture than white.
I've seen corn dried on the cob that looks purplish (called Indian/Native American corn http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize)...people here use it in the fall to make arrangements with...if it's anything like what you've grown...sounds like it would be better to eat it!
I'll have to research purple corn somemore!
The purple drink...is quite lovely, what a beautiful color it is!
Those photos are stunning. I love the idea of purple corn - fabulous, I will have to look out for it.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of the Indian corn we had in Wisconsin. But, I don't think you can eat Indian corn-it's just used for decorations-as far as I know. Have a blast with your experiments!!
ReplyDeletesugar also got purple type but not its juice
ReplyDeletefrom naturegreeneries.blogspot.com/
Beautiful purple corn, so how did it taste? Is it as sweet as yellow corn?
ReplyDeleteI grew purple snap peas last spring, the pods turned green after cooking, I was hoping they would stay purple.
Mac... many thanks for dropping by... the purple corn does not taste as sweet as the yellow corn... it is more 'powdery', should I say? Yeap, purple snap peas, like purple cauliflower, and purple (or red?) okra, lose their purple-ness when heated... don't know about purple asparagus as yet...
ReplyDeleteThe corn look so purple! Good antioxidant!Hope you have more next time!
ReplyDeleteThe first photo look like a creepy crawly at the first glance for me.
ReplyDeleteHave fun experimenting with your purple corn. :)
How beautiful!!! I'm partial to the color of purple. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteLynn
I haven’t had blue corn for a number of years now though I have fond memories of it when I lived in the USA for a time. We had blue corn tortillas filled with green guacamole, fresh ripe sliced red tomatoes with flecks of fresh red chilli, chopped coriander (cilantro) and topped with local soured cream. The colour combination was fab and the taste... utterly, utterly, delicious!
ReplyDeleteBlue corn tortillas with all those fillings... sounds so delicious...
DeleteLrong, congrats on the purple corn harvest. Lovely corn. I can imagine how wonderful those kernels when cooked with rice. But I read some where that the taste is not as great as the normal yellow corns. True?
ReplyDeleteYeap, not as sweet as the yellow sweet corn... but delicious in its own way...
Deleteoh i see. thanks for describing!
DeleteI love purple vegetables ,too. They have the same anthocyanins. I grow purple cauliflower + broccoli for the purple color. Last year, I tried the new hybrid violetta pak choi since they said it had a lot of anthocyanins. I found the seed expensive and it was not as fast growing as my other greens. It was very pretty and tasty.
ReplyDeleteTried growing purple cauliflower once... they lose their color when boiled...
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