Explore the Different Types of Corn & How to Use Them

Corn has been called the all-American grain. Maybe that's because of its prominent place in our meals. You’ll find it in tortillas, chips, bread, salads, soups, and more.

Whether you want to choose a sweet corn to serve with your favorite cut of beef at summer barbeques, the perfect popcorn for your movie nights, or the best variety to plant in your garden, you need to know about various types of corn before you buy corn seeds. Otherwise, you may end up with something you don’t want!

Corn in the USA

Americans are estimated to eat about 1.4 billion bushels of corn annually! And that doesn’t include the 5 to 6 billion bushels of corn that we use to feed our livestock each year!

Since corn is such a big deal, let’s talk about the various types of corn, the difference between types, and their different uses. While you're at it, you may also want to check out these blog posts about types of lettuce, types of garlic, types of tomatoes, and types of winter squash and summer squash.

Benefits of Growing Corn at Home

Have you ever wanted to grow delicious corn at home that is 100% organic? Now’s the time! 

This summertime favorite is easy to grow. Plus, it can save money to grow it yourself instead of buying from a store.

Homegrown corn has superior flavor and freshness. It’s no surprise that How to Plant and Grow Corn was one of my most requested growing guides! 

By growing corn yourself, you control the growing conditions. This means your corn can be free from harmful chemicals and GMOs!

After harvesting corn from your garden, you can eat fresh corn, preserve it, use the husks, corn silk, and stalks, or make animal feed. You may even end up with edible huitlacoche (corn smut) by mistake.

The Different Types of Corn

There are four main types of corn: sweet corn, popcorn, flint corn, and dent corn.

You are probably more familiar with sweet corn than with any other type. When sweet corn is ripe, it has a very low starch content compared to a very high sugar and water content, making it very crisp and sweet.

Popcorn is best used dry and popped. The kernels have a high water content and low starch content. When heated, the water inside creates steam, which, along with the low starch, causes the POP.

Flint corn falls somewhere between popcorn and dent corn. It has a high water content and a high starch content that is not ideal for popping but is perfect for grinding. Because the starch acts as a glue or binder, it is superior for making grits, cornmeal, or corn flour.

Dent corn has a very low moisture content but a very high starch content. It has a long storage time and is a high carbohydrate source, making it good for animal feed and producing corn syrup. It can also be milled into cornmeal, grits, or flour.

Sweet corn is loved for its juicy sweetness. When choosing which corn to grow, you should know that MIgardener has hybrid and heirloom varieties available.

Just to be clear, hybrids are not GMOs! Hybrids are created from cross-pollination, while GMOs are created with gene modification.

Here is a list of my favorite heirloom and hybrid sweet corn varieties:

• Kandy Korn Sweet Corn - A beloved variety renowned for its delectable taste. Its flavor is a symphony of sweetness with a subtle nutty undertone, making it a favorite for fresh consumption and culinary creations. It elevates summer dishes with its rich, sugary burst of flavor.

• Silver Queen Corn - The most popular white sweet corn variety on the market! Its plump ears grow 8-9 inches long and burst with delectable sweetness. It is disease-resistant and productive.

• Peaches and Cream Sweet Corn - Its mature ears showcase a striking blend of yellow and white kernels, evoking the delightful contrast of peaches and cream. The taste is equally remarkable. This variety is a gardener's delight, reliably producing abundant harvests in various climates.

• Ambrosia Sweet Corn - These plants are robust and resilient, and the bicolor corn has exceptional taste and tenderness. The ears, typically 8-9 inches long, feature a delightful mix of yellow and white kernels that are juicy and sugary. Ambrosia corn is ideal for fresh eating, grilling, and freezing, retaining its sweet flavor and crisp texture.

• Golden Bantam 12 Corn - A classic heirloom variety cherished for its sweet, rich flavor and tender kernels. This early-maturing corn, ready in about 80 days, produces 5 to 7-inch ears filled with bright yellow kernels. Its delightful taste and historical significance make it a favorite among gardeners seeking traditional, flavorful sweet corn.

• Stowell Evergreen Corn - Introduced in 1853 after years of refining to perfection, this drought-tolerant variety is the leading white corn with a sweet, rich flavor.

• Bodacious Sweet Corn - This is a corn lover's dream, renowned for its bold and satisfying flavor and tolerance to heat and drought-prone regions. The standout feature of Bodacious is its exceptional sweetness; each bite bursts with sugary richness. Whether grilled, boiled, or savored fresh from the cob, it delivers a succulent and satisfying experience.

• Double Red Sweet Corn - Sweet and delicious, this variety will stain your fingers while you eat it with its beautiful maroon kernels. This Oregon heirloom makes delicious and colorful corn bread.

• Bi-Licious Sweet Corn - A popular bicolor hybrid variety known for its exceptional sweetness, tender kernels, and reliable performance. Producing large ears filled with alternating creamy white and bright yellow kernels, Bi-Licious offers a delicious balance of sugar and rich corn flavor.

Popcorn has been a favorite snack for centuries. It has a hard outer shell and a soft inside.

When heated, the water inside becomes steam, causing the kernel to pop into the fluffy snack we love. Popcorn’s low starch level means it is a great low-calorie snack!

Homegrown freshly popped popcorn has a glorious flavor that store-bought can never match. Once you’ve eaten homegrown popcorn, you’ll never buy popcorn from the grocery store again!

Here are my favorite popcorn varieties:

• Red Strawberry Popcorn - A charming and unique heirloom corn variety known for its vibrant, deep red kernels and compact, strawberry-shaped ears. Maturing in about 100 days, its kernels pop into fluffy, white popcorn with a slightly sweet flavor perfect for snacking.

• Miniature Blue Popcorn - This NON-GMO, true heirloom variety is bright blue and will steal your heart. It is so beautiful that you won't want to pop it, but once popped, it is delicious! Each kernel erupts with such force that you're left with uniform and delicious popcorn puffs every time.

• Japanese Hulless Popcorn - With its limited hull, this popping corn is a homegrown favorite. It is a dwarf variety producing heavy yields.

• Mini Pink Popcorn - With beautiful soft mauve kernels and ears that grow from 3 to 5" long, this variety is one of the cutest on the market! Each plant yields 2 to 3 ears apiece. Once popped, enjoy the tiniest popcorn you've ever seen and indulge in its delicious nutty flavor.

In the video below, we popped every variety of heirloom corn to find the best one!

Flint corn has been a staple in American culture for centuries. One of its most distinctive features is its wide range of vibrant colors. It is also known as Indian corn or ornamental corn, but it is absolutely edible and delicious.

Flint corn is quite versatile. The soft starch inside the hard outer layer gives flint corn its unique texture and flavor.

It can be popped into popcorn and milled into flour. Its striking colors and hardy nature make it a favorite among gardeners and cooks alike.

These heirloom varieties are bound to impress:

• Indian Corn - One of the oldest varieties of corn in the world. With colors like deep red, yellow, purple, and white, this variety symbolizes fall and is the main event of any cornucopia.

• Glass Gem Corn - The most stunning corn we have ever seen, and it is forever our favorite variety of heirloom corn to grow. Translucent kernels in deep shades of blue, green, purple, orange, white, pink, yellow, and red that shine like glass. Wonderful when made into jewelry, popped like popcorn, or turned into flour.

Dent corn is the most widely grown corn in the United States. Also known as field corn or maize, you will notice that dent corn has a dent in the top, as its name suggests.

The dents are created when moisture leaves the kernel. Low moisture makes dent corn wonderful for milling. It can be kept in dry storage for 2 to 3 years without a problem.

I recommend dent corn for making corn flour, cornmeal, and animal feed. Here are three great varieties of dent corn:

• Oaxacan Green Dent Corn - Originating from Southern Mexico, this variety has been cultivated for centuries and is most popularly used in corn flour to make tortillas and tamales. You can eat the seedlings by tossing them in salads or grow them to maturity. Like any dent corn, Oaxacan can be used as livestock feed.

• Bloody Butcher Corn - You’ll see this beautiful dent corn producing long cobs that reach up to 12 inches long. Their deep red color adds brightness to recipes. It makes gorgeous fall decorations and has a delicious flavor when ground into flour or a meal.

• Blue Hopi Corn - a traditional heirloom variety treasured by the Hopi Native American tribe for its striking blue kernels and cultural significance. This robust, drought-tolerant corn grows 8-10 feet tall and matures in about 100-110 days. The kernels, rich in anthocyanins, offer a mildly sweet, nutty flavor and are ideal for making blue cornmeal, tortillas, and traditional dishes.