Why the 'nostalgic flavor' of this heirloom corn is causing a resurgence

[Jilly_in_VA]

On the slopes of the Malinche volcano, Juan Vargas starts the dawn routine he’s had since childhood, carefully checking stalks of colorful native corn. For years, Vargas worried that these heirloom varieties — running from deep red to pale pink, from golden yellow to dark blue — passed down from his parents and grandparents would disappear. White corn long ago came to dominate the market and became the foundation of Mexicans’ diet.

But now, the heirloom corn Vargas grows is in vogue. It accounts for 20 of the 50 acres on his farm in Ixtenco, in the central state of Tlaxcala. Vargas, 53, remembers just one acre reserved for it 2010, when demand was virtually zero and prices low. Fueled largely by foreign demand, the corn in its rainbow of colors has become more profitable for him than the white variety.

Vargas is among farmers in Mexico who’ve been holding on to heirloom strains for generations, against a flood of industrially produced white corn. They’re finding a niche but increasing market among consumers seeking organic produce from small-scale growers and chefs worldwide who want to elevate or simply provide an authentic take on tortillas, tostadas and other corn-based pillars of Mexican food.

Corn is the most fundamental ingredient of Mexican cuisine, and it’s never far from the national conversation. Amid President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s move to ban the importation of genetically modified corn and his imposition of a 50% tariff on imported white corn, some scientists, chefs and others are advocating for the value of the old varieties in an increasingly drought-stricken world.

Heirloom varieties make up far less than 1% of total domestic corn production in Mexico. But for the first time in years, Vargas and others are hopeful about the crop. Some in the academic and public sectors hope to increase its production.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/heirloom-corn-organic-mexico-resurging-industrial-white-corn-rcna96412

Just as with tomatoes, the heirloom varieties are going to be tastier.

[Major Nikon]

1. You can't really compare this kind of corn with sweet corn

You can eat sweet corn raw, but most people are going to heat it up at least for a few minutes. Flint corn requires hours of boiling or processing into hominy, corn meal, masa, etc.

If you go to Peru you can find several types of corn that is edible in the same way hybrid sweet corn is in the US. Primary you find choclo which is much tougher and less sweet than hybrid corn. Peruvian cooks use it in all sorts of dishes and use it in very interesting ways. Most corn in the Americas can trace its roots back to varieties developed by the Incas. They actually had corn development farms where they created varieties that could be grown all over their empire in drastically different conditions.

Personally I’m a big fan of Native American corn varieties. I can’t say it’s a replacement for hybrid corn, but definitely a compliment.

[Warpy]

2. Some certainly are

The blue corn, preserved by the Pueblo people and now grown commercially, does have a more pronounced flavor than either the white or yellow varieties.

Some day, we might see corn snobs at the level of coffee snobs.