Corn: Treasure Of The Americas

[@gabehuizenga1600]

Only Townsends could make a twenty-minute video on corn, which I'm excited to watch every minute of. Cheers!

[@VBunplugged757]

He could make a video about paint drying and I'd still watch

[@kkupsky6321]

You musta missed last week tonight a couple weeks ago. John Oliver talked corn for twenty five minutes…

[@BrianOfCollegeStation]

Lightly waiting for a comedy 18th century period movie that has a townsends cameo where he gives a short spiel on the 18th century version of phone books

[@ISawABear]

Ancient Americas also did an episode on the history of Corn too, see their video on the history of Maize

[@mrs.manrique7411]

Only twenty minutes! I can’t stand such short videos. 😩

[@archonsouthpaw8690]

This new format where you guys switch back and forth is interesting, keeps the pacing dynamic and fresh

[@ViciousTiger11]

I think it helps make it feel more like a conversation, while still maintaining the education/info aspect

[@garyv2498]

100% agree

[@Scriptorsilentum]

this is an excellent video - another one from the Townsends but nonetheless this is slightly changed. the switching is well-timed. "dynamic and fresh" - absolutely and Ryan's own enthusiasm certainly shows. They keep getting better and better.

[@greghanson3495]

Came here to say this. Agree 💯

[@Teporame]

Corn was developed in North America, so you know. It was in the Balsas river basin in central México; and Mexico, my friend is in North America. It was originated from a wild grass known as teosinte.

[@luismonmex]

teosintle with an L in the nahuatl language

[@ejohnson3131]

The concept of North and South America is a European concept… the name “America” itself comes from a European explorer if you want to get technical. It’s not some indigenous concept.

[@Misterpolentero]

​@@ejohnson3131solo dice la verdad y no habla de conceptos europeos o algo así solo dice que México está en norteamerica

[@NezahualcoyotlMendoza]

​@@ejohnson3131bueno, cámbialo por el terminó Anáhuac, para que sea mas original.

[@vaylonkenadell]

I'm Choctaw. The traditional way that we cook hominy -- nixtamalized whole corn kernels -- is by stewing it in an iron kettle over an open fire with shredded chicken and slices of salt pork. Delicious.

[@hawkbox]

That sounds amazing.

[@AJ-zu7ct]

Yoo so like Mexican Pozole

[@timothykeith1367]

Neither pigs or chickens are native to the Americas

[@cyankirkpatrick5194]

I love Hominy ❤

[@janewhitely964]

Hominy is one of my favorite food.

[@mix-n-match834]

Nixtamalization specifically uses wood ash or any other strong alkaline. This process makes the hemicelulose ("glue" that holds husk on the grain) dissolve, making it easy to remove it. It also makes corn suitable for making dough which is very important for producing tortillas and other similar products and depending on what kind of alkaline product you use it may introduce also other minerals like calcium.

[@debbiej.2168]

It also makes vitamin B3 (niacin) available, preventing pellagra.

[@junglechick13]

Best corn tortillas I've ever eaten were made with wood ash in the mix and cooked on a wood burning stove homemade at a friend's parent's house. Deliciosa!

[@rlt9492]

Juniper ashes introduce a satisfactory amount of dietary calcium.

[@millenium2003]

Sorry but I'm not eating ash..

[@rlt9492]

@@millenium2003 You eat way weirder stuff every day guaranteed.

[@BlueJune_89]

Dudes this is like a peak old school history channel level documentary. I actually learned stuff and was entertained all throughout. PLEASE do more just like this!

[@johncave3334]

When I was young, my mom used to cook us johnny cakes w/a chunk of jowl bacon on the side. It was a Saturday breakfast treat. I'd give almost anything to be able to share this Saturday breakfast with my mom again.

[@boblemedieval]

I'm in Québec, and to this day, we often colloquially call corn "Blé d'inde" (indian wheat)!

[@petergray2712]

That was the original English name for maize, too. English merchants bringing maize back to the British Isles marketed it to consumers under that name.

[@ElectroAtletico]

@@petergray2712 Brought to Europe, by the Spanish, along with the potato, tomato, chocolate, tobacco....

[@abyssstrider2547]

In my native language it's called Kukuruz

[@reeferforall3120]

What do you call winter wheat? Which is technically Indian wheat because it wasnt in the old world before Columbus.

[@boblemedieval]

@@reeferforall3120 See, before you commented, I didn’t know of winter wheat and had to google it! It seems like it’s the same as in English, “Blé d’hiver” for winter wheat!

[@veramae4098]

Originally the word "corn" was used for any grains. They didn't know what to call this new plant, so "corn", and that became it's name.

[@BRIAN_IVERSON_20]

makes sense - i was recently wondering why the old german word for grain was korn despite that grain being from north america

[@NathanDudani]

quorn

[@qwertyTRiG]

Still true in most dialects of English. Only in American English does corn specifically mean maize.

[@mrdanforth3744]

It was called "Indian corn" but over time was shortened to just corn. Outside north America the old meaning of corn and indian corn persists.

[@gewgulkansuhckitt9086]

You see that in the King James version of the Bible. It puzzled me when I was younger because I was thinking that corn came from the Americas and therefore shouldn't be mentioned in biblical times.

[@donttuga9310]

While I was in the military and taking a survival course two foods the instructor said you're blessed to have in a bad situation was corn and coconuts.

[@DH-.]

Green coconut for iv

[@ScanianDude]

I would love to afdd a third food too, potatoes

[@OfficialCelticNative]

Wisdom 😂

[@abyssstrider2547]

Make sense, Coconut has a lot of minerals.

[@donttuga9310]

@@abyssstrider2547 I've been told(not sure it's true) that some island cultures their word for coconut translates as "fruit of life" or something like that. Never researched it myself, but I'd buy it. You've got water, food, various vitamins and minerals, a bowl, canteen and fire starting material. The only downside is that coconuts are so rich in potassium they become a laxative if you eat too many at once.

[@ezragonzalez8936]

corn's wild ancestor is a grass called teosinte and it was domesticated in Mesoamerica, near the Balsas river in Southwest Mexico; rather than Central America!

[@drusillawinters212]

When I was a child, one of my favorite breakfasts was fried corn meal mush. The corn was prepared as you did. Then it was chilled in a loaf pan. The next day it was cut in slices and fried. Syrup was poured over it.

[@JKwakulla]

That's Grandma food for me. Bob Evans Restaurants used to have c.m.m. on the menu until Covid. Unfortunately they took mush off the menu.

[@erzsebetkovacs2527]

Sounds tasty. Syrup as in maple syrup?

[@phantomkate6]

​@@erzsebetkovacs2527Or its substitute, 'table syrup,' which is made from sugar and/or corn syrup. That meal is diabetes on a plate. 😂

[@timothyhelm437]

We ate corn meal mush as children. My Grandma grew up in the mountains of TN.

[@trudymaenza9672]

Didn't care for syrup on my fried mush!

[@johnw7410]

Best part of my Sunday mornings are watching these with my coffee.

[@gabehuizenga1600]

I'm doing the same right now- cheers, mate!

[@paulamolinaacosta5635]

I really appreciate how much you use historical imagery in your videos instead of AI-generated images like so many other channels on here. Thank you very much!

[@Tam.I.am.]

I remember picking field corn one summer. My family had a lot of members with celiacs, so we used a lot of corn, and finding that farmer who would let us pick the ears off his silage corn was a God send. We shucked the ears and dried them all, then shelled them and stored the corn away. My friends in Malawi are facing a food shortage, because their maize crop has been affected by drought. It's amazing to see corn so important there, just like potatoes have become a staple in some parts of mountainous China.

[@TaLeng2023]

If even the corn can't handle it, it must be bad. I hope they had more drought-resistant crops like amaranth or cassava.

[@joanhuffman2166]

The Indians of Mexico do not typically dry grind their corn. Instead they cook it with cal (agricultural lime) to make something very much like hominy. Once this is rinsed and the bran removed the soft hominy is mashed in a mocajete to make masa (dough).

[@joelg1318]

Yes we do we call that Pinole

[@joanhuffman2166]

@joelg1318 naturally everything is done with corn. But I expect that more maize is made into masa than pinole.

[@SeldimSeen1]

Thank you for preserving important food history. You always do just a wonderful job sharing your knowledge with the rest of us.

[@lucasmoreno2154]

As a south american (brazilian), I couldn't watch this video without acknowledging how "weird" it is to think that corn was (and is) seen as hog, worthless food. Here corn is such an importat food for our culture and daily nutrition that I can't really underestimate how important it is - here we usually don't eat green corn daily and stuff like that, but many of our food goes with corn on it: boiled meat, brazilian stroganoff, hot dogs and street hamburgers. We also have some holidays in which corn is part of the main buffet, etc.

[@petergray2712]

For Americans (North and South), it's a strange notion. But Europeans (except Italians and Romanians) traditionally won't eat maize because of its use as animal feed.

[@BrenttFease]

It reminds me of the way Romans used to look down on beer

[@cronosmu]

@@petergray2712 That and the fact that Anglos still see nixtamalization as an exotic concept. Imagine arriving to the Americas and eating so much corn withouth properly preparing it that you develop pellagra. You would frown upon such a 'barbarous' food. Iberians, on the other hand, were quicker to adopt traditional methods. There's also the difference between how the catholics and protestants dealt with the natives in their repective new acquired territories.

[@obsidianjane4413]

@@cronosmu "anglos still see nixtamalization as an exotic concept" Still? That is false and kind of bigoted. In fact your whole post reeks of it and over generalization. "Anglos" eat a varied diet so its less of a requirement, but yet cornbread is still an "anglo" staple as much as tortillas are in Latin America. You are less likely to get corn tacos in Spain than in New York.

[@cronosmu]

​@@obsidianjane4413 I don't care how it sounds to you. If you think "anglo" is a derogatory term, that's on you. I guess you come to KZbin to get offended at every single thing that is said or written. Maybe read an academic paper on the subject if a KZbin comment seems too superficial. Cornbread is not made out of nixtamalized corn, but cornmeal (which in this day and age has a lot of vitamins added to it, which enhaces its nutritional value). The corn tortillas and tostadas you eat come from a very specific tradition, which traces back to Mesoamerican people. The Spaniards that remained in America quickly incorporated those techniques into their cuisine, and that's what I'm refering to. Other Europeans, in general, were more reluctant. That's okay. Different societies do things differently, shocking. My comment, which you didn't read properly, refers to a historical tendency in the earlier Anglo Ameican world (I guess adding American" makes it less offensive) and has nothing to do with today's New York. Of course you'll find a wider variety of products there than in Madrid. You can reply, but I won't.

[@Big_Glizzy.]

In the southwest the Hopi people can grow corn in completely dry environments, I think they call it dry farming.

[@knightforlorn6731]

its watered when you arent watching.

[@debbralehrman5957]

They used the 3 sisters method. As did many Indigenous people groups.

[@terryt.1643]

We call it dry field farming here. The ground stores enough water during wetter winter that plants can survive during the dry summer months.

[@Winterascent]

Dry farming is farming without irrigation. It is not completely dry as they would grow during the rainy season, and not from winter precipitation, as the little Colorado River Valley is in a rain shadow and receives very, very little precipitation. If you visit the mesas today, no one is really farming, and basically no one is subsistence farming. It is more or a hobby than a way of life. Depending on where you are on the adjacent Navajo Reservation, old irrigation projects from the 1930s have been destroyed by floods, and along with it their farming areas. It could have been rebuilt, but no one farms. Also, there are lots of abandoned homesteads up canyons and in washes where only the very old still live, mostly they were abandoned decades ago. The Hopi relied on the summer thunderstorm rains that typically comes July through September; AKA the Mexican or Southwestern Monsoon. The corn they grew produced a very small ear of corn, not what you are used to with dent or sweet corn grown in the east. The Hopi and other SW Desert Tribes that dry farm planted the corn in depressed areas in the soil to collect the scant rains and hold it so it can soak in rather than run off. The Tohono Oʼodham would plant in a wash, which would receive run off from the higher terrain. The desert tribes like the Tohono Oʼodham, Salt, Pima, and Gila are descended mostly from the irrigation farmers that lived in the Salt and Gila River Valley and practiced flood irrigation 1000 years ago prior to the collapse of those societies. The Hopi are not. Later tribes like some bands of Apache that settled in places like the Verde Valley and farmed were irrigating. The Navajo dry farmed with some irrigation in the Chuska Mountain region, but today most of that land is not farmed. NAPI or Navajo Agricultural Products Industry, uses San Juan River water from the Navajo Dam near Farmington to practice irrigation farming with over 500,000 acre feet of irrigation water allocated yearly. It is a recent development, beginning in the 1970s. Most if not all of the central pivot irrigation crop circles visible from space in NW New Mexico are NAPI farm lands.

[@terribleivan1475]

@@Winterascent This is a wealth of information, thank you

[@floydblandston108]

For nearly twenty years, I've grown a native multi- color flint corn developed by the Abenaki to mature and dry down in our cold northern climate. I then grind it down into an excellent yellow corn flour. For bread, I use three parts white wheat flour to 1 part corn and add about two tbsp. wheat gluten to a regular yeast risen recipe. For baking powder recipes, the ratio can be closer. A particular favorite is an applesauce and blackstrap mollasses sweetened muffin using rye/corn/buckwheat and whole wheat flours, along with some lard, salt, egg, and pie spices. It doesn't work well for grits, polenta or meal, since flint kernals are so hard they 'shatter' rather than grind, but it will make a very nice 'cornbread'. Seed is available from Fedco in Maine.

[@meganlalli5450]

What's the name of the multi-colored corn? I have some Abenaki flint corn that's all yellow.

[@floydblandston108]

@@meganlalli5450 - some ears are yellow and some are red. 1/10 will be mixed. I forget the name, since I just save my own seed from year to year.

[@RRaucina]

You should try pressure cooking the ground or shattered corn. Thow a bit of ash in from your wood stove or campfire. I am growing Johnny red and Morado purple.

[@nortyfiner]

"Three sisters" farming and the foods from it could be a good follow-up to this video.

[@Scriptorsilentum]

north american amerindian companion planting goes all the way to 4, 5, and 6 Sisters plantings. 😁 i'd love to see the video you proposed and how the Townsends would present it. i'd also like to know how colonists viewed companion planting coming from relative monoculture farming in europe.

[@iridescentsea3730]

Three sisters is not a good planting method, I don't know why people on the internet keep pushing it so hard. Have you actually done it yourself? And did you have greater success than you would have otherwise?? Because there's a ton of downsides to the three sisters method that I NEVER hear anybody mention when they present it like some magical secret technique.

[@Scriptorsilentum]

@@iridescentsea3730 i get it. haven't done it myself but it seems comp planting did sustain a large population in eastern north america pre-columbus. what downsides could you mention? rsvp.

[@misstweetypie1]

@@iridescentsea3730Three sisters works well for dried corn, dried beans, and winter squash. If you are looking to eat fresh corn and green beans, then, no, this isn’t the planting method for you. It’s kind of a set it and forget it planting method. Everything gets harvested at the end of the season.

[@WePlayMX]

​​@@iridescentsea3730 Hello. :) I'm from Oaxaca, México and I have planted three sisters and cultivated it for years. I just call it milpa, though. Also radishes. It is a good system for planting to eat from it as it grows. And its not a set and forget system as others have said. Yes, if what you're trying to get out of maize is just the kernels for corn syrup and to make it easier for machines to pick, then yeah, it's from that specific perspective not a good system. But, it gives you squash flowers, which we eat, it gives you "calabacitas" which are young squash, which we eat, it gives you ejotes, (My city has its name from those "Ejutla" which means "place of abundant ejotes") which are the beans still in their bag, which we eat, and it gives you young maize on the cob and huitlacoche (what in english you call corn smut), which we eat. All of this we eat as it grows prepared in different ways, and at the end you get squash (though not the orange kind you see in USA movies), you get beans and you get maize too. :) It's a very productive system and it reduces the impact that cultivation has on the soil as the beans have a nitrogen fixation effect. A very good system indeed. 😁👍

[@spudgn]

Thanks guys. You have no idea how much this may mean to me and my poor village kids in the Philippines. Thanks again.

[@deedoyle4069]

Blessings!

[@arturogonzalez8789]

In Mexico there is a new 2025 project to recover all the original variants of corn in all regions, there are around. In Mexico there are 64 races of corn, of which 59 are native all colors

[@veramae4098]

A few decades ago a disease developed that threatened corn world wide. This COULD NOT be allowed. The solution (lots of solutions were tried) turned out to be go back to it's origins, found some wild corn which was not affected by the disease, and interbred it. Problem solved. Never destroy every plant. We may need it someday.

[@bordenfleetwood5773]

​@@knightforlorn6731 - From the sources I've read, I feel confident in saying that there are very few instances of deliberate eradication of any food plant in history. Instead, it's more often a case of economic pressure. Humans want the choicest foods whenever possible - this is just human nature - and powerful economies from powerful empires can drive production of those choice varieties to the detriment of genetic diversity. In the end, farmers existing beyond subsistence grow what people will buy. People buy the food they like the most. Food that doesn't sell goes to waste, and doesn't get replanted. If this goes on long enough, such that every farmer growing this crop only grows the "good" stuff, then whole varieties will suddenly just... Be gone. Everyone thinks someone else was doing the growing of the cheap varieties, but no one was keeping track. An accident. It just happens to be a repeated accident throughout history that has caused tremendous suffering.

[@MapleHillMunitions]

Interstellar was a great movie

[@robertonoguera7076]

there is not such a thing as "wild corn". The reason behind those plagues is monoculture. Corn in the U.S is used for a very particular industrial use case, but it wasn't created for that only.

[@slizzysluzzer]

@@robertonoguera7076 Zea is a genus of flowering plants in the grass family. The best-known species is Z. mays (variously called maize, corn, or Indian corn), one of the most important crops for human societies throughout much of the world. The four wild species are commonly known as teosintes and are native to Mesoamerica.

[@reddixiecrat]

People need to plant more heirloom varieties of corn

[@trublgrl]

The parching process reminds me of a cool tip I found on the internet. If you are making popcorn in the microwave, soak it for ten minutes, then pour out all excess water. soaked popcorn pops more completely, and the endosperm is less dry and sharp.

[@4362mont]

I)) have to try tgat!

[@CoreyandCrew]

My dad taught me that if you get it wet it doesn't burn. Always been doing it...

[@Mistah_Boombastic_BiggieCheese]

Do you soak the whole bag?

[@trublgrl]

@@Mistah_Boombastic_BiggieCheese I guess you can't do it with bagged microwave popcorn. I use a silicone microwave popper bowl, and just soak a quarter cup of raw popcorn kernels for ten minutes, drain, and pop them in the microwave. BTW, this is way cheaper than bagged popcorn, and you can put wholesome toppings on it like real butter and salt, instead of the weird chemicals in those prepackaged bags.

[@CoreyandCrew]

@@Mistah_Boombastic_BiggieCheese I usually just flick a healthy amount of water on it, but I have run the tap over it and it was fine

[@cliffordhagen2240]

Everything you and your team does makes me smarter and inflames my desire to learn more each day. Thank you for what you do.

[@CAPTSPAULDING-se3fw]

My dad used to shuck corn as a boy, the rule was if you opened an ear and it was an “Indian” ear (the colored variety) you could kiss a girl that you choose. That’s how dad met mom.

[@bluejellosuu9583]

awww that's such a sweet story this tradition should not die

[@UCannotDefeatMyShmeat]

How quaint 🙂

[@idrathernot_2]

Cute, and a great way to catch charges these days

[@CAPTSPAULDING-se3fw]

@@idrathernot_2 whats wrong with a 7 year old kissing another 7 year old on the cheek?

[@idrathernot_2]

@@CAPTSPAULDING-se3fw the fact that that 7 year old can end up on channel 6 news now for sexual harassment or assault, and the odds go up the older you go. We can't have nice things anymore.

[@thexalon]

Regarding Squanto (known by his own people as Tesquantum): While the English colonists (my own ancestors, in fact) thought his presence as an English speaker was some sort of divine providence, the actual story is more interesting. European ships had visited the coast of what's now Massachusetts several times. He'd been abducted by one of those European ships, spent about 8 years traveling back and forth across the Atlantic trying to get home, finally made it home ... only to learn that almost all of his friends and relatives had been wiped out by European diseases. The reason he knew English is that he had spent time in England, and aboard English ships, so when English people showed up on the coast to permanently settle, quite naturally Massasoit of the Wampanoag tapped Tesquantum to be basically their ambassador.

[@obsidianjane4413]

In hindsight, telling them to GTFO would probably have been a better choice.

[@mahna_mahna]

And he was enslaved for four years as part of all that.

[@ClariNerd]

*Maine. He was kidnapped off of what is now called Monhegan Island, 20 miles south of the city of Rockland.

[@thexalon]

@@ClariNerd I've been on Monhegan, I didn't realize he'd been abducted there.

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

Lovely. I appreciate that this channel goes out of its way to be apolitical, but I personally feel that by not including certain information you rob history of context. The fact that natives didn't murder the colonists wholesale after a certain point seems unbelievable. Every tale involving natives always has some horrific back story

[@bunnyslippers191]

Native Americans did use salt. They sometimes had rock salt deposits near them and dug out salt from those, or used brine springs and boiled the water down until they got salt in the bottom of the vessel they used for boiling. In addition they would burn plants that concentrate salt in their leaves and stems and extract salt from the ashes. They also traded throughout the entire continent and those who had a ready source for salt used salt to trade for other goods. Oddly enough, most Native Americans in what became the US didn't use sea water to make salt, even when they lived on or close the the coasts. Why, I haven't been able to find through Google.

[@Mifune41]

I have no science to believe this, but I truly believe some of us have a gene that makes salt not as appetizing as it is to everyone else. Syracuse is known as the Salt City because it's massive salt reserves led to it becoming America's largest salt producer. Syracuse was also the heart of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and my ancestors had no interest in the salt. Even now, many people in my family don't even have salt in their homes. I never noticed this until I was dating a girl and she was constantly adding salt in food I had made - something I've almost never done in my life. I try to put the amount of salt defined by recipes in my food, but it's not really a big deal to me personally.

[@reeferforall3120]

There's a native american man still buried in the salt mine that collapsed trapping him in Camp Verde, AZ. Archeologist told me in '99.

[@stephenolan5539]

​@@Mifune41 The genetic analysis that I recently got talks about that.

[@woofawoof7616]

​@@Mifune41ah, another Syracusian!

[@BenXu1]

I love the tag team approach!

[@MajoraZ]

To be clear, Corn was domesticated in Mesoamerica, near the Balsas river in Southwest Mexico; rather then Central America (which is below Mexico). The Ancient Americas channel has an excellent video, "Maize: The Engine of American Civilization", which covers it's initial domestication and some of it's use and cultural connotations in Prehispanic civilizations in Mesoamerica like the Aztec and Maya.

[@ericschulze5641]

Wasn't corn little tiny ears like 2 inches long, when Europeans arrived not much bigger than a wheat head ? It's just a grass

[@jaimeayala4231]

@@ericschulze5641 It was like that some 9000 years ago but when the Europeans reached the New World it was already developed in many varieties with multiple colors, sizes and stalk heights and adapted to specific climates and soil conditions. Just look at Mesoamerican and Andine sculptures and you'll find plenty of representations with well-developed corn ears.

[@donguadalucio1405]

Americans, green goes, never like to give credit to Mexico. They rather say "Central America" or "South America" to avoid saying Mexico.

[@donguadalucio1405]

@@ericschulze5641 The word "nixtamalization" is an Aztec word. They were using fully developed corn before any European. They were creators of nixtamal.

[@JimmyGarcia-vg8db]

​@@donguadalucio1405 Beautiful 👍💯 White people come from Europe, Mexicans and there reservation brothers and sisters are the real Americans. The rest are immigrants,U.S. citizens 🇺🇸, not Americans.

[@TheIndianaGeoff]

The midwest comes out in me when I see a pile of sweet corn and summer tomatoes. I know that sweet corn is a modern creation, but it's so good.

[@BSJinx]

Incredibly, we Americans actually forgot the importance of nixtamalization in the 20th Century. When industrialized food preparation started, removing the germ of the corn grains also removed much of the nutrition. The result was that poor Southerners who depended on corn as their primary food suffered from pellagra which led to dementia, organ failure and death.

[@erzsebetkovacs2527]

Not just Americans. Pellagra was a scourge of poor peasant communities in Europe, too.

[@bluephreakr]

A Jewish doctor known as Joseph Goldberger who was tasked to investigate the cause - and cure - for this disease eventually resorted to consuming in pill form bodily excrement from prisoners as part of his case study that pellagra was not a contagion. Once this was known, he also figured the solve for it was introducing niacin into the American diet, and all became well enough after.

[@badart3204]

@@bluephreakr​​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠A similar issue occurred with the Japanese navy rations of white rice causing protein deficiency as it removed the germ of the grain. Officers were fine bc they ate meat but the sailors died for a bit due to protein deficiency until they figured it out. They didn’t require poop pills tho

[@WhatIsMisophonia]

I don't think the producers forgot, I think they just didn't care. It's not like they wouldn't have had people coming before them telling them these things. By removing the germ, you greatly improve the shelf life and texture; At least that's how it is with wheat, so I presume it's the same with corn. Plus, you can sell the germ, oils, etc. to other industries. Business business business, we don't care if we're poisoning the food supply like a bunch of super villains, and nothing has changed.

[@TaLeng2023]

​@@badart3204what's ironic was that they ate white rice coz it was considered a more high status food that brown rice and one of the perks of joining the navy is you get to eat as much white rice as you want.

[@alexanderdooley5833]

Adding corn to a barley beer is called a cream ale. It's awesome.

[@alexanderdooley5833]

I think 20% corn is the minimum for cream ale.

[@RRaucina]

Johnny red corn is said to be the brewers and distillers favorite.

[@theREALdingusMD]

This is peak Townsends. Everything is perfect. More of this, please.

[@ISawABear]

It'd be cool to have a guest host from a First nations (native American) background come on and show some of their traditional cooking or recipes.

[@Talmorne]

We hear plenty from the American/European side, would love to see more from the Native side!

[@silverranger302]

This guy probably knows more than most first nation's people

[@nargasvids3816]

@@silverranger302 While you might be intending to say that the host of this show has a lot of knowledge, it's not necessary to throw in the attack on stereotypes. Many could interpret this as you being deliberately offensive, etc.

[@douchebagwearingrainbowpants]

@@silverranger302 Ok sure, he probably shouldn't have some random dude on the show, thanks. You're coming across as super prejudiced btw, you clearly don't think very highly of natives. Maybe keep that to yourself next time.

[@F0XD1E]

​@@silverranger302If only Americans hadn't committed genocide, more of that history would survive today. I wouldn't be surprised if no Native Americans wanted to appear on this show that arguably glorifies colonial America.

[@lindachandler2293]

The multi colored corn makes the most beautiful pastel hominy.

[@arpi8168]

In old Hungarian language corn was called Turkish wheat, as you mentioned. Although nowdays it is not used, people still understand this phrase.

[@ConfessorRahl]

One of my favorite KZbinrs tackling one of the most important commodities across the world. Let’s go! I can’t wait

[@Mistah_Boombastic_BiggieCheese]

A very corny episode!

[@macsarcule]

Another excellent video! Way to go Townsends team! I was so glad you noted all the cultivars of corn Native Americans created that we still depend on and have further hybridized for use today. Specialized versions for each application like corn meal we bake with, corn for polenta, waxy corn for corn starch, field corn for industrial uses, and the sweet corn most modern viewers are most familiar with on their tables. All of these have roots in the cultivars indigenous North and South Americans created. So well done, really cool to see the parched corn preparation and meal from it, just fascinating! To have so many types on hand to film and demonstrate (I’m genuinely impressed and pleased you got your hands on unripened dent corn), this video must have taken some considerable planning to film! Way cool and well done! 😃✨

[@MCCProductions2024]

Happy Father’s Day, John!

[@helmort]

I love this channel, the quality of the images, the speakers, the passion present in every video made is simply unique!

[@phillipsmith770]

My family is from Tennessee and I grew up knowing “Country Cooking”, of which corn was integral. Great video, but one thing I didn’t see was that after you cut the kernels off the cob you next would scape the ear with the back of the knife to get the “milk”. For one, nothing was wasted but also the milk helped thicken what you were cooking. Lastly, the cleaned corn cob was used for many other important purposes.

[@trudymaenza9672]

Eating on the cob itself was part of eating corn on the cob, no waste, then one day I caught one of my kitties doing this on a cob that was partly eaten, who knew 😂

[@Tranquill129]

Omg I just can’t emphasize how your quality content makes my day much happier. Thanks for doing what are you doing. Ahoy from the mountains🇨🇭

[@fugu4163]

My wife comes from a mountainregion in mainland China. Corn are a very popular staple because it is able to grow everywhere and are used in everything from flour to distilled spirits. One explanation might be that corn actually are a kind of grass.

[@theclonelieutenant5976]

It is or more like was, if you look at a modern ancestor of Maize corn it looks like barley or wheat, which are kinds of grass

[@Vaeldarg]

Now if only they taught in China where corn actually came from, instead of lying that it came from China.....they rely on so much from other countries, yet never want to give any credit back to them for it.

[@amf9797]

@@Vaeldarg No one in China is taught that corn didn't come from the Americas, I don't know what part of the comment made you think that

[@Vaeldarg]

@@amf9797 There's multiple channels that talk about the truth behind their propaganda and "Great Firewall" nowadays. Odds are if it's something positive, they're taught it is actually from China. It's part of their nationalism.

[@Vaeldarg]

@@amf9797 Odds are if it's something positive, especially something so often used in daily life, they're taught it actually originated in China. There's multiple channels revealing the truth of what is going on there nowadays, beyond the restrictive guided tours and paid influencers.

[@thecallshop]

I've been watching your vids for a few years and they're getting better and better. Thank you!

[@Jeshab]

Here in mexico we still use the traditional nixtamalization in specialized mills, just boiling the corn and lime in a big tub, rest all night and then grounded into a fine powder to make masa, most mills sells prepared masa or specilized masa for tamales which is a different type

[@RicardoSanchez-es5wl]

You deserve to be recognized at the highest levels for preserving history so beautifully and in such an entertaining and interesting way.

[@A.Filthy.Casual]

Corn? The big lump with knobs? Yknow, i heard it has the juice, and--honestly--i cant imagine a more beautiful thing.

[@heirkaiba]

Maize is the backbone of so many Mexican foods it’s crazy.

[@NTNG13]

It's the backbone of mexican cuisine entirely, like rice and it's different aplications in asian cooking.

[@PapagenoMF]

@@NTNG13 Like potatoes in American food.

[@bvbxiong5791]

maize is the backbone of the modern world. maize is why we have an abundance of livestock, of affordable meat, eggs and dairy.

[@SVanTha]

@@bvbxiong5791 Which is why corn is the #1 crop in the US. It's corn, then soybean, then wheat...and corn has a huge lead over the other two, like more than double and triple their output. That's how important corn is.

[@BleachDemon707]

No way?! 🙄🙄

[@jamesellsworth9673]

So...what was the verdict on each dish? Other than that, this was a splendid video. The scripting and moving back and forth between Jon and Ryan was great!

[@mnowens5295]

God bless you for demystifying maiz. Too few people understand nixtimalization. I'd love to see a follow up episode on beans. Modern culture has forgotten such essential preparation techniques

[@mnowens5295]

14:20 I think that's a bad assumption that the aboriginals didn't know about salt. Salt is an essential source of minerals in any society

[@-Devy-]

It's the literal opposite of essential. Completely useless in today's world.

[@mnowens5295]

😆 what does your diet look like? When we forget the old ways we run into all kinds of roadblocks

[@UntoTheBreach24]

​@@-Devy- today's world is not sustainable. It's worth knowing how to live sustainably.

[@HueNost]

@@-Devy- bro thinks food comes from the store 💀💀💀

[@jdboswell3308]

Thank you Gentlemen for another highly interesting and informative video. Always one of my favorite channels.

[@Makrangoncias]

In Hungarian the old name for corn is "tengeri" which literally means "of the sea". It was popularized during the Ottoman conquest and the historical perception is that it came "from over the sea" thus the name.

[@GNMbg]

in Bulgaria its called "tsarevitsa" which probably comes from the name Tsarigrad (the King/Tsar's city) which is the name the Bulgarians at the time would use for Constantinopole (modern day Istanbul). So I guess they also thought corn came from Turkey

[@nicolezhang5351]

Absolutely love this channel. It’s basically your favorite history teacher who makes learning fun!

[@fldon2306]

Great video! One segment of the “European Letter” references corn beer; Peruvians have been making Chicha Morada, fermented purple corn beer (with pineapple and spices) for centuries. Great for cavities, by the way; check out Nazca burial skulls. And many Latins prepare Maseca corn and (usually) pork stew, sometimes called Tamal en Cazuela. There’s a popular manufacturer of the corn mix north of Lubbock, Texas.

[@antjecasarez5059]

I grew up in Central/Eastern Europe and we didn't eat corn. It was grown in huge quantities but only to feed pigs and cattle. Now, many years later, I’m married to a Mexican American guy and corn is a staple in our diet. I can't imagine a life anymore without corn on the cob, cornbread, tortillas, tamales, creamed corn, or cowboy caviar. 😅

[@anissaferringer4965]

Oats were also looked down on by many English as "horse feed" at the time.

[@burgerking220]

Idk where they got all this superiority complex... Just look at their food...

[@leszekwolkowski9856]

in the beginning europeans considered potatoes as animal feed

[@zinckensteel]

Hunger is, by far, the best spice of all. Salt is a damn close second, though.

[@robertjacobs861]

Another great video. I especially liked the way the two of you switched back and forth. I love listening to both of you. Louise J

[@cearachonaill8149]

Where I volunteer, we grow “ancient” varieties of the late 18th and early 19th century. They definitely taste different to sweet corn. I love them all. 😊

[@petergray2712]

Sweet corn is an "ancient" variety. It's a natural mutation, and the first strains of sweet corn to be cultivated by Europeans were obtained by New York farmers through trade with the Haudenosaunee nations around 1800.

[@erzsebetkovacs2527]

Where do you volunteer, may I ask?

[@cearachonaill8149]

@@erzsebetkovacs2527 hi, I volunteer at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Vancouver, WA. The “white man” has only been here for about 225 years, starting with sailors looking for the Columbia River. And then only 1 or 2 men before Lewis and Clark came through in 1805 & 6.

[@olddawgdreaming5715]

Great job Ryan and Jon about corn and the America's learning about it's use. Sure glad it survived the long journey. Fred.

[@StevenShelley-m6s]

Corn is a heavily modified grass. The pollen grain looks like other grasses, except its about 10 times bigger. Its one of the great gifts to the world by Native Americans.

[@sethmatson7654]

I really love this channel because of how it seems to be an anthropological look into food and foodways, not just around the American colonial times, but even beyond that. It's always a fascinating look into history and culture through food and the ways people would have grown, procured and prepared food back in the day.

[@colton72395]

We use corn so much for everything one of the most important plants ever alcohol for drinking and for gasoline feed for animals sugar production it’s really a amazing plant

[@felipejara2234]

Gracias hermano Townsend amazing video about our fundamental maíz ❤

[@BaroqueBlues]

Cone! It's got the juice.

[@bradyoung6663]

When I tried it with butter, everything changed.

[@crazysnake1096]

Another day, another wonderful Townsends video.

[@juliafromwisconsin]

Thanks again for a wonderful video. I think the use of ash in these recipes allowed for something called “nixtamalization” that allowed the corn to be more easily digested. So many of the old recipes for processing corn used ash, lye made from ash, or less commonly in North America - slacked lime (powdered remains of burnt limestone), as these things helped to break down the fiber or cellulose in the corn for better digestion (like the way grits were made). As for salt, I wouldn’t deprive yourself of salt on food (yikers! - that could be bland!), as archaeological and historical evidence shows that Native Americans made salt through evaporation from saline spring water for many generations before the arrival of Europeans. Native peoples actually developed a special type of pottery or large flat pans made of clay pressed into a woven rope matrix to be used in the boiling of the saline, and this type of pottery is found at many sites. So the Native peoples were making and using salt long before the later “long hunters” made salt for both meat preservation and processing of certain types of animal hides, and of course the earliest European-American settlers followed the routes of the long hunters. I’m sure you know all this, but Daniel Boone and men like him were called “salt-boilers.” I’m an older woman who has spent many decades reading and researching original historical documents (many in French!) from 1700-1840 North America, and I really appreciate the way you authenticate so much of what your do. I have come to believe that salt production and trade was actually very important and widespread in the 1700’s North America, even though some history books barely mention it. From what I have researched, I’d tend to think most people had access to salt in the 1700’s, but there were times when they didn’t in which case they complained loudly! Thank you!

[@RodCornholio]

Outstanding, high quality content. There’s a variety of corn (a blue type I think) which can grow in extremely harsh hot/dry desert-like conditions. The roots go deep. I think the power of corn to contribute to humanity isn’t over. Summer is coming…

[@RolloTonéBrownTown]

The advent of nixtimalisation is one of the most interesting stories of the "how the heck did they figure that out?!" variety food origins. Great ingenuity but I wonder how many were borne of accidents?!

[@pieman3141]

Agreed. What a weird process - how did they even figure out how to deal with corn malnutrition with such a specific method?

[@RolloTonéBrownTown]

@@pieman3141 from what I understand, it originated as a way to prevent spoilage. They were noticing when stored, the corn would develop mold so maybe they were just trying random additions to help preserve?

[@damianlopez7630]

I love you guys your channel is awesome I always watch it to relax I learned so much and I become hungry when I watch you and your partner and every friend and guest you bring to the channel are wonderful to watch I'm so grateful to see you guys thank you

[@Ironman99-c8e]

Finally an entire episode about corn.

[@kotak4420]

Pretty corny I must say.

[@hotrodmercury3941]

I met a European dude once who said "you Americans are so obsessed with corn!" And it sort of opened my eyes to our obsession of corn. Where whole states rely on corn production. We not only eat it and feed if to livestock, we even use it to fuel our trucks!

[@alanmichelsandoval8768]

However that's a different kind of corn that is not really meant for human consumption but rather for oil productikn

[@tadsklallamn8v]

I am only in my 4th year of growing 3 sisters and developing my own climate adapted varieties of corn for the PnW! It's crazy the variety you can achieve in just a few generations!!!! Saving the color of seeds I like for planting, I've developed a blue variety and a magenta variety of sweet corn and a rose quartz variety of popcorn!!!! I got a seed grant from navajo nation, their SW corn sure loved to mold up here at first but we just burned the ears that molded and last year we had no mold for the first time!

[@ZOCCOK]

1:52 The phrasing here makes it sounds as if Alkali are the amino acids needed for making corn more complete nutrionally. Alkali was needed, however the reason wasn't that it was needed by humans, but the fact that it made the Vitamin B in the corn more bioavailable to humans (The deficiency of which causes Pellagra, a huge problem in Europe where corn was imported and grown on mass however the process nixtamalization unfortunately didn't reach)

[@kaialoha]

The technology of nixtamalization was disdained as primitive grinding which was more efficiently replaced by industrial grinders. Vast populations were sickened and died.

[@notsqueakerchild8504]

I absolutely love these videos big history videos with some cooking inbetween and surprisingly good editing, i like it

[@freedomlovingporcupine914]

I use corn along with barley in my Cream ale recipe. It definitely adds great flavor.

[@51rwyatt]

Great video. I find maize/corn pretty fascinating. Every year I grow a different corn variety in my garden and save a lot for decorations. My color this year is deep red with the Jimmy Red variety. Last year was Oaxacan Green.

[@DaveJoria]

A great tag-team episode. Really enjoyed it. My only regret is not hearing your thoughts on the taste of the dishes!

[@davea6314]

This corn 🌽 video is not corny.

[@Kymmee2100]

I "ear" ya! 😂😂

[@urAnusFighter1]

I own a house built in 1717 in southern massachusetts. I grow gem corn , apples , pumpkins ,beans , and a kitchen garden. Imbtryong to grow everything they grew at the period when the home was built.😊

[@Joemantler]

*Happy Father's Day John!* When I think of a food sustaining a continent, I think of the potato.

[@ThomasQuigley-p6i]

Love these episodes. Please continue.

[@LashknifeTalon]

Technology does not develop in the same ways across all cultures. Where the Eurasian cultures went into metallurgy and domesticated animals, the Native Americans mastered agriculture and horticulture. Maize is one of the results.

[@ishrendon6435]

Here in mexico corn and chili peppers and avocados are definitely a part of our lives here and a staple along with chocolate

[@mikeskelly2356]

While not mentioned, Native peoples had access to 'Spices' that they surely used in everyday cooking. Bergamot, Sage, Cedar, Mint, Juniper, Staghorn Sumac, Mustard and Rose Hips were common in North America. The salt trade was also well established, although most wasn't used in food or for preservation, since most meats were smoked... John, that mess of a candle on your table points up the need for 'Candle Followers'. You guys already make ceramic mugs, open top 'thimbles' shouldn't be a stretch, and I think 'Nutmeg Followers' would be a popular item...🕯🕯

[@AhJodie]

When I was a kid, back in the late 1950's and early 1960's, corn meal mush was something we had for breakfast often. If we had left over, we would put it in a container in the fridge, then would slice it and fry it another day. I loved it! I want to learn more about the process to make it digestible though. I enjoyed this video a lot and looked up John Smith. He was a wild guy and had some crazy adventures before he went to America. I was upset though, that he attacked the Indigenous people a few times when the colony needed food. No wonder they attacked back! Thank you again!

[@debbralehrman5957]

Happy Dad's Day Jon and Ryan.👍🏼😄🌹

[@yannickbenavides7452]

Good job guys! Really enjoyed this one

[@brianartillery]

I was also interested to learn that American First Nation people used to treat Acorns with ashes and occasionally sand, to make them edible.

[@Mamaazhiiwe]

Acorns are tricky because they are high in tannins, the reds more than the white, requiring a lot of processing to make them edible. My understanding is that our people only ate them in times of famine, though archaeologists have found evidence of both corn and acorns being eaten in our are over 1000 years ago.

[@myxinautix8320]

I've never heard of ashes and sand to leach the tannins, but it's easier than that. There are a couple methods to soak the acorns in water to draw the tannin out, and both yield a delicious meal. I've got a chestnut oak stand I harvest from yearly and it's well worth the effort.

[@wgm8637]

Sand may have been a by product of grinding on sandstone rocks.

[@sizer99]

Jon and Ryan in video together again, what a treat! Though at the end, eating the food, you can tell it's 'well, this is sure... technically edible.'

[@dwaynewladyka577]

The corn that is mentioned in the Bible isn't actually the corn on the cob that we know. It's wheat. The Six Nations people in the area that is known in modern day Ontario, Quebec, New York State, and parts of the American Midwest, grew corn, beans and squash as their crops. The nutritional value and ease of storage was a very valuable thing for these people. I'm originally from a very large farm in Alberta, Canada, and aspects of farming, including how they did it long ago is fascinating. Many cultures around the world have different preparations for corn. Part of my mixed Slavic ancestry includes Ukrainan. Cornmeal is part of the cuisine. Cornmeal, cornbread, or corn on the cob, are very satisfying too. This is a very informative channel, and I appreciate this great content. Cheers!

[@patrickdurham8393]

Corn, beans and squash still are called the Three Sisters.

[@dwaynewladyka577]

​@@patrickdurham8393That is correct. Cheers!

[@carrow2250]

Thanks for another great video. So relaxing and informative.

[@nancybarnett2832]

I live in Iowa, corn is everywhere! Lol

[@ashleehouse5204]

Same in texas.

[@julesl6910]

This channel is really in its prime, excellent work

[@MrBasementGuy]

I would to see a corn beer and wine recipe. I started a version of the colonial soldiers spruce beer

[@placasowuicho967]

Love the video. Also even to this day. Some ppl literally call corn bad for you and that we should not eat it. But its one of the best foods. So many videos on youtube about how ppl are not evolved to eat it.

[@gamewatch6861]

Gentleman, behold! I give you... CORN!

[@dividingpicnic]

This time shall be different!

[@carlosvega-ev2ie]

CORN was developed in Central Mexico, 4 hours car-time east from Mexico City, in Tehuacan, Puebla zone. Ancient mexicans made experiments with wild-corn until it was able to be eaten. This process lasted 1500 years. Then it was exported to all americas.