CORN

Corn was first cultivated in Mexico where early Indians grew grasses that were the grain's ancestors. These grasses were steadily improved between 5000 B.C. and 2000 B.C.. By the time of the Aztec (c. 1325), corn had become the primary food source in central Mexico. As the Aztec came into contact with other Indian peoples, the cultivation of corn spread—reaching the Maya in southern Mexico and Central America, the Inca in South America, the native peoples in the Caribbean, and as far as the Canadian tribes in the north.

The grain was unknown to Europeans at this time. It was Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) who, upon his arrival in Cuba in 1492, discovered corn and took it with him when he returned home. By the end of the sixteenth century corn was well established as a crop and a primary food source in southern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. During the next century corn became a staple of the colonial diet. European settlers in America learned from the Indians how to cultivate, harvest, and process the grain. In the late 1500s Virginia farmers planted their fields according to the Indian method, producing a much higher yield per acre (200 versus 40 bushels). From cornmeal colonists made mush (also known as hasty pudding), grits, hoecake (an unleavened cake), and bread. Hominy (a dish made of softened corn), succotash (a corn and bean casserole), and roasted corn were also widely consumed. Bourbon whiskey was made out of corn in Kentucky in 1789 and its popularity soon eclipsed that of brandy or rum in the American colonies.

To keep up with growing demand for this versatile grain, growers became commercialized during the 1800s. They were aided by the development of the mechanical planter and other farm machinery. In 1870 U.S. corn production topped one billion bushels for the first time. This figure doubled in the next 15 years so that in 1885 production stood at two billion bushels. Still, more uses for corn were yet to be found. By the end of the nineteenth century corn would be mixed with oats to produce a superior feed for livestock. It was also added to pancake mix. Corn was made into flakes in a breakfast cereal introduced by American physician and entrepreneur John H. Kellogg (1852–1943). Throughout the twentieth century new uses combined with a growing population to produce an ever-increasing demand.