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Article: Sweet? Sweeter? Sweetest? What's best? (sweet corn)(includes related article)
- Article from:
- Sunset
- Article date:
- May 1, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Sunset Publishing Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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CORN IS SWEETER than ever, and gardeners are raving about the newer varieties. Not only do they taste sweeter, but the sweetness lasts much longer after harvest than it did in the old-fashioned corn our parents and grandparents grew.
What makes the corn so sweet? It's in the genes. One type, called "sugary enhanced" has a gene (labeled "se" in catalogs) that modifies the normal gene for sweetness, making kernels much more tender and sweeter (although sweetness varies among varieties). The conversion from sugar to starch is somewhat slower after harvest than in older varieties, so the corn stays sweeter for many days after picking.
The supersweet varieties ...