The Scoop on Corn

Gluten gains a lot of attention for being irritating to the gut, causing inflammation, creating systemic reactions and varying symptoms, but have you ever considered corn? Whilst some find that they react to it no matter what, typically, corn CAN be well (ish) digested - if it is prepared correctly. 

But it takes a hot minute. Corn is a grain, and most of us know that grains need a little helping hand to become digestible - or our gut and subsequent nutrient absorption would at least appreciate the help! 

We never, ever buy corn due to obvious reactions that Sean and Malakai experience. So it is never in our house unless it ticks a few critical nutritional and gut friendly boxes. But when said child sees corn on the cob at the shops, demands it, tanties over it; we take the organic corn home, use the tools that we’ve got and turn it into something slightly more digestible. 

Often sneakily hiding in common ‘healthy alternative’ gluten free products like breads, pastas and cereals, as a filler in ‘health’ supplements and bars (hi maltodextrin) or in your classic and most obvious staples like corn tortillas, popcorn, chippies or taco’s - and there’s a 90% chance that the one used within these products is not only genetically modified into Bt Corn, but most importantly - lacking proper preparation and therefore a leading cause of nutrient deficiencies in niacin, zinc and magnesium, and gut issues.

But it’s not all bad, it’s just that we’ve tried to outsmart culture by fast tracking preparation and thereby once again, been taught that we should have listened and refrained from skipping critical steps that have the potential to create a food that CAN be nutritive and beneficial. Insert nixtamalized corn that you can purchase yourself, or, make a corn on the cob slightly better by fermenting it like this.

So why? Humans do not have the enzymes to digest the outside husk of the corn kernel that is made up of cellulose - hence why we can’t digest it. Nixtamalization helps remove this, slightly ferment it, and therefore properly digest it. In cultures that tried to skip this process and heavily rely on corn, serious health issues were caused by a niacin deficiency due to the anti-nutrients in corn. The importance of this preparation of the corn was then fully established - but ignored in western cultures.

We can be eating or supplementing with ‘all the right things’ and still find ourselves nutrient deficient, or just, bloated as heck, feeling nauseous and/or inflamed, and corn can be one big unknown trigger.

Whilst the following process is not to create the exact outcome of what nixtamalized corn is, it does create a version of a corn on a cob that is better tolerated, simply by fermenting it and therefore pre-digesting it via beneficial bacteria. 

Fermented Corn

Ingredients:

  • Organic corn
  • Liquid ferment of your choice (we use coconut water kefir)
  • Ghee or butter
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  1. Place corn in the liquid medium for a minimum of 24 hours.
  2. Remove the corn from the fermented medium and fill a pot with enough water to cover the corn. Add a pinch of salt. Bring to boil and allow the corn to boil for 5-6 minutes. 
  3. Remove the corn and pat it dry with a tea towel or a paper towel. 
  4. Heat up a pan to medium heat, and add in your ghee or butter.
  5. Gently place the corn on the pan, sprinkle it with salt as evenly as possible, and allow to fry until golden on a few sides of the corn. 
  6. Remove it from the pan, and serve it hot!
  7. You may drizzle it with a little more ghee or butter, and any further seasonings like pepper, chilli flakes or fresh herbs.
  8. Enjoy!