baby oh baby...corn

no but really, where does baby corn come from?

i was thinking that the other day. i don't think i've ever seen "fresh" baby corn like i do other veggies. i mean, really, it always comes in a jar or at the salad bar. and is it in fact real corn? A mutant? How does it grow? Where? I decided to find the answers the all these questions and more. Thought others might be having the same veritable quandry so wanted to share what i found on this great site called Ask Yahoo!:

"Those tiny corncobs aren't genetically mutated dwarf ears of corn -- they're just immature ears of regular corn - many varieties of corn can be used to produce baby corn. The secret is in the harvesting. Baby corn ears are picked by hand immediately when the silks emerge from the ear tips or a few days after. Corn matures quickly, so the harvest must be timed carefully to avoid ending up with normal corn ears. Baby corn ears are generally 4.5cm to 10cm in length and 7mm to 17mm in diameter.

Most baby corn commercially available in the U.S. is grown and processed in Asia, particularly in Thailand. Because baby corn must be picked by hand, it is too labor-intensive for most American farms. It's been an extremely important crop in Thailand since 1976, and other Asian nations have also begun producing and exporting it. Perhaps this is why baby corn is so often found in Asian recipes."

So i guess it's kinda like eggs. You take em and ship em before they get "ripe". Those poor little baby corns - cut down before their prime. Sigh. Anyhow, now you know.