SPROUTING CORN SEEDS: SWEET CORN, FIELD CORN, POPCORN


Of course sweet corn seeds will sprout, if you can find good quality seed that
has not been treated with fungicide. One sprouting book suggests taking sweet
corn from the store, allowing it to dry (intact, on corn cob, with husks still
in place), and use that for sprouting. Of course you have to get the corn
kernels off the cob, but that is easily done by hand once the ears are dried.

Anyway, I tried doing just that, on two separate occasions. After removing the
corn kernels from the cobs, I allowed the seed to dry further for storage. Then
I tried sprouting the sweet corn seed. The results were very disappointing -
after about 30 hours in water, the dried sweet corn seeds had not hydrated
(i.e., did not absorb water) at all! If they don't hydrate they certainly can't
sprout. (I terminated both trials at that point - end of soaking period).

So my first trials in sprouting sweet corn were not successful. Later, I
obtained some organic, untreated sweet corn seed from Seeds of Change ('Rainbow
Inca' variety). These were of very high quality and sprouted nicely - soak for
24 hours, then sprout for 2.5-3 days. The result is a sprout that tastes like
raw sweet corn, but is not as sweet. There were no problems with mold or
bacteria. Success at last in sprouting sweet corn!

However, the overall results of this experiment were not 100% positive. Because
the seed costs $9.00 per pound (plus $4 shipping), sprouting sweet corn seed
is not economical. Frankly, I would advise eating raw sweet corn instead -
more flavor, less trouble, and cheaper than trying to sprout expensive seed.
If you decide to try sprouting sweet corn seed, make certain that the seed
you use is not treated with fungicides or other toxic chemicals. Most sweet
corn seed is sold for the garden/agriculture market, and has poisons applied to
control damping-off and other diseases that kill seedlings.

Also, if/when you eat raw sweet corn, I recommend eating the raw corn silk
also. Corn silk is delicious, a diuretic, and often used by Western herbalists
in anti-diabetes programs. In a sense, the corn silk may serve as an antidote to
the excessively high sugar level found in today's modern hybrid corn varieties.

I should also mention that field corn and popcorn both sprout OK. However, both
are uneven and irregular sprouters, blue mold is a serious problem with both,
and the outer shell of the popcorn kernel is very hard even when sprouted.
Field corn sprouts are soft if grown long enough, but their flavor is starchy
and can be very bland.  Again, the easiest way to eat raw corn is to just eat
raw sweet corn. If you insist on sprouting field corn or popcorn, inspect the
seeds and remove broken/moldy kernels before soaking (quality of seed can be
highly variable), soak for a minimum of 12 hours, and sprout for 2.0 or more
days.

Good luck in your sprouting experiments!

Tom Billings