You can eat it straight from the cob or you can make popcorn from it or even turn it into porridge.  This is a very versatile type of food and is also healthy.  Lets have a look at where it grows and how it can be used.

Corn belongs in the grass family and in most countries it is called 'Maize'.  The cob that you hold in your hand and then eat the kernels from, is actually a flower and each individual kernel is a seed.

The average cob will have 16 rows of kernels with 800 kernels overall - the cob always have an even number of rows.

A bushel is a unit of measure for volumes of dry commodities such as shelled corn kernels. 1 Bushel of corn is equal to 8 gallons. 

Corn is produced in every county on Earth, except in Antarctica where many things are not found or grown because of the cold.

This is a tremendously versatile plant and there are more than 3500 uses for it.  Do research and find a few uses besides the obvious.

As well as being eaten by the cob, corn is also processed and used as a major component in many food items like cereals, peanut butter, potato chips, soups, marshmallows, ice cream, baby food, cooking oil, margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and chewing gum. 

The sweetener that comes from corn is called 'corn syrup and this is used in many types of cold drinks. 

 Corn and its by products are also found in many non-food items such as fireworks, rust preventatives, glue, paint, dyes, laundry detergent, soap, aspirin, antibiotics, paint, shoe polish, ink, cosmetics, the manufacturing of photographic film, and in the production of plastics. 

Corn will also be used to feed cattle and sheep and it can even be used in pet food.

The United states is the biggest producer of corn and are responsible for more than 20% of the world's production.

There is a place called the 'corn belt' where most of the corn is produced in America and it includes

the states of Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky 

When the early settlers came to North America, the corn was such a great commodity and so expensive that it was used as money and could be traded for other things like meat and furs.

Corn is most commonly yellow, but it is also grown in colours like white, grey, purple, red and green.

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