Evening star., 1925-12-09
FOOD AND HEALTH
BY WINIFRED STUART GIBBS.
Food Specialist.

Since the day when "hasty pud-
ding" or corn-meal porridge helped to
win the Revolutionary War, corn has
played an important part in American
history and American nutrition.
Don't you remember the story OF
Pudding Hill, where the British Of
ficer received blazing baptism of siZ
zling hot corn meal. thrown by pa
triotic housewife by way Of stopping
his advance? OF course he stopped.
Did you ever wonder why corn meal
was so especially efficacious. or
whether oatmeal or wheat would have
done as well? AS a matter of fact
neither of the other grains would have
produced precisely that state of scald-
ing fury and pain. for the reason that
corr. has considerable proportion of
ing oil may he.
II that same colonial housewife had
been able to look forward to today,
how surprised she would have been to
see ali that science accomplishes with
corn as a basis! She would find that
Indian corn, or maize, to give it it's
true name, is rated as Americas most
important crop, from the standpoint
Of both acreage and money invested.
Then, II she had kept up with modern
developments In the study Of nutrition,
ther amazed, for "1njun meal" as our
torefathers used TO call 1t. begins its
life Of service, as one writer points out,
as food for beef cattle and other ami
mails used for food. OF course, this Is
also true of other foods eaten by ami
mails. but just now we are thinking
OF life cycle of corn and it's place in
| the program of feeding the human
race.
To return to the spirit OF the early
| coloniSt. If she were to follow through
| In her quest for information about
corn as food she would find that un
! like the wheat kernel, that of corn is
nor SO frequently described. As a mat
| ter of fact. the corn kernel holds not
| only the oil which burned the British
| officer. and which gives us energy and
| warmth and flesh. but efficient body
building material or protein as well.
| although II is not A complete protein
| and must be supplemented by other
BODY building foods.
| IL is perhaps AS a many sided food,
| however, that corn is most interesting
| as story material. The starchY pOr-
| ton known to many of us chiefly as
| the basis for blanc mango. enters into
| the composition of various forms of
| corn syrup, several corn sugars, be-
| sides the different starches for confec-
| tionery and for laundry use. Nor does
| this exhaust it's list of services rem
| dered for the oil cake. the corn oil
! ani the raw starch all must he taken
| into account as important cattle food.
The corn kernel has three parts
| germ. hull and endosperm-and one
! aspect Of the commercial problem is
| II separate these az completely as pos
| sihle.
| Much OF the delicious confectionery
| we sc much enjoy has corn syrup as
| ore Of its ingredients. and corn syrup
| Itself has an interesting composition.
| Pure cornstarch is first diluted with
! acidulated water and cooked under
| pressure. Chemical changes then be-
| rin the products formed being a com
| biuation Of two forms of sugar. grape
| suga~ and malt sugar, each being a
| very easily digested product The
next step with corn syrup Is to re
! move the small quantity Of acid still
! remaining, and after this "rocess,
| common table salt is formed. BY this
| tine 1t is easy for us to realize that
| the corn kernel Is a veritable chem
! ical laboratory in miniature. Com
rIete discussion would call for moth
| in- short of book. but enough has
| been Indicated to show that careful
! study of just one Of our common food
| stuffa will bring undreamed-of knowl.
| edge that will prove of the utmost
| help in achieving complete nutrition
for the race.