Can I use feed corn to grind into cornmeal or is it sweet corn? I can buy the corn at the feed store and grind it myself for ALOT less than I can buy cornmeal.

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 26, 2000

Answers

Sure. Won't be as clean, you'll have to winnow it carefully. It is plain old field corn. Watch for molds. Some of them can be pretty nasty in their affects on warm-blooded creatures. Shouldn't be much of a problem though.

Sweet corn could be used, as far as I know, no commercial producer of corn meal uses it. But if you've got some you grew and dried yourself, throw it in the grinder. Field corn is a bigger huskier plant that produces bigger huskier ears. When a field corn ear is dried, you've got a whole lot more corn than when a weet corn ear is dried.

Sweet corn has been bred to have sweeter, thin skinned kernals. It is also a wetter corn in my experience, and harder to dry down. Much touchier as to molding and seems to take forever. Seems like it should be the other way around. Perhaps sweet corn would dry better if cut off the cob and dried rather than leaving it on the plant to dry.

Just be serious about cleaning it. There's a plant in my area called "rattlebox". I don't know what the scientific name is off-hand. At the end of the season the stalks have vaguely poppy-seed-like heads on them. People around here get really excited about it and claim just a few of its seeds will kill a cow. Then there's also the possible problem of smut. Some people eat the stuff, and there's virtually always some in any given field of corn (your garden is different). I wouldn't want to eat it myself. So use your judgement about whether or not after winnowing you might want to rinse and dry your corn. There could be a certain amount of ground smut in the corn. I hope someone who lives in an area where there are commercial cornmeal producers can weigh in with more information. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), January 26, 2000.

Further on the corn saga: I read recently that smut (what our grandkids call ALIEN CORN) is a delicacy in Mexico. Like Gerbil, I too would not want to eat it. Looks like a paper wasp nest! You have to be very careful of how you dispose of the stalks that show it, as it is a virus and very contagious. Gets into your soil and can spread to the crop the next year. We cut the stalks off as soon as we see any signs and put them into feed bags and close the bags, then put it out for the garbage. I read where you shouln't even burn it. Don't know if that is true or not, as it was supposedly spread that way too. Sounds fishy, but I didn't want to take the chance.

-- Janice Bullock (Janice12@aol.com), January 26, 2000.

I have thought about grinding feed corn before myself but decided not to chance it. Walton Feed sells yellow dent corn for $5 for a 50# bag. I think I will give that a try. Not hardly worth growing it for that! Not only is grinding your own corn meal cheaper but more importantly to me, it is fresher and contains all the nutrients including the germ which store bought usually doesn't have. Do not grind more than you can use at a time, it will get rancid unless refrigerated. Walton Feed's web site with their catalog is www.waltonfeed.com

-- barbara (barbaraj@mis.net), January 26, 2000.

This suggestion might not be as cheap as your feed corn idea but we buy popcorn to grind into cornmeal. It makes a wonderful fresh, moist cornmeal and the small kernels are easy for my grinder to grind. It also saves room when storing supplies because we can use it to pop or grind. I know Sam's sells a 50# sack for about $10- $11.

-- Kathy Hardin (DavidWH6@juno.com), January 27, 2000.

If you know an old hippie or don't mind shelling out the money, use a "black light" to check any questionable corn for human or animal use. Molds, etc., will glow a blue color, and, of course, that should be disposed of where birds or animals can't get to it.

-- Marilyn Dickerson (rainbow@ktis.net), January 28, 2000.

One more note on using feed corn for meal. This time of year it can taste stale depending on how it was stored. The stuff I get from the neighbor always tastes like a clean garbage can by Spring. So if you get a chance, chew a few kernals befor you buy 5 pounds or more. If it tastes good, it will make nice meal.

-- Kathy (redfernfarm@lisco.com), February 01, 2000.

Organically grown corn runs way higher in protein & tends to have less mold problems in storage

-- Judy Genereux (thistle_farm@hotmail.com), June 25, 2000.