Corn
Corn belongs to the family Gramineae. It is classified as Zea mays.

In contrast to rice, corn is primarily a New World staple, first cultivated by the Indians of South, Central and North America. When combined with dried beans and green vegetables, corn provided sound nutrition for the Indians. In fact, corn bread and beans are the main sources of protein and carbohydrates in traditional Mexican diets. Throughout Europe, "corn" has always been the generic name for any of the cereal grains. Europeans call corn "maize", a derivative of the early American Indian word mahiz. In fact, before settlers came to the New World Europeans had never seen this food — called Indian corn by colonists. What a wonderfully versatile and useful gift the Indians gave the world. Everything on the corn plant can be used: the husks for tamales, the silk for medicinal tea, the kernels for food and the stalks for fodder. Horticulturists developed the two most popular varieties today — white (Country Gentleman) and yellow (Golden Bantam) corn. Yellow corn has larger, fuller-flavored kernels; white corn kernels are smaller and sweeter. The hybrid butter and sugar corn produces ears of yellow and white kernels. As soon as it's picked, the corn's sugar immediately begins its gradual conversion to starch which, in turn, lessens the corn's natural sweetness.

Corn contains phytosterols. It is a good source of protein and high in vitamin E.