Corn
Micro corn – sweet, tender and crunchy
Micro corn is one of the most intriguing microgreens – tender green leaves, a juicy texture and a naturally sweet taste. It is a lovely way to add freshness and a lightly sweet plant accent to your dishes.
Benefits
As a young cereal plant, micro corn contains chlorophyll, carotenoids, minerals and various phenolic compounds typical of young green plants. Chlorophyll and carotenoids are natural plant pigments, and phenolic compounds have antioxidant activity. Micro corn is also interesting because it offers nutritional value together with a very pleasant texture and natural sweetness.
Taste
Mild, sweet and fresh, with a delicate flavour reminiscent of young corn. The stems are juicy and crunchy.
Where does it feel most at home?
Micro corn loves saltier and spicier flavours, because its natural sweetness balances them. It is wonderful with avocado, hummus, roasted vegetables and all kinds of grain bowls.
It pairs especially well with Asian- and Mexican-inspired dishes – rice, beans, corn tortillas, sesame, soy sauce, lime and mildly hot dressings. You can also add it to sandwiches, toasts or salads when you want something different from the usual greens.
Our little trick: combine it with something spicy. The sweetness of micro corn and a bit of heat complement each other beautifully.
The plants are ready about 14 days after sowing.
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central – food composition database of the US Department of Agriculture.
- Xiao et al. (2012), “Assessment of vitamin and carotenoid concentrations of emerging food products: edible microgreens”, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 60(31):7644-7651.
- Ebert (2022), “Sprouts and microgreens – novel food sources for healthy diets”, Plants 11(4):571 (review).