Heirloom Corn
- Floriani Red flint corn, ideal for polenta and cornbread
- Pungo Creek dent corn, bread and polenta, masa, tortillas, tamales, and pupusas
- Cherokee Long Ear Small popcorn, featuring a rainbow of kernel hues
Floriani Red Flint Corn
The Story
Originally from the Americas hundreds of years ago, “Spin Rossa della Valsugana” or “Spiny Red from the Valley of Sugana” probably arrived in Italy in the 16th century via Spain, as European explorers brought plants and animals home. Over the centuries, this Native American red flint corn adapted to the climate of northern Italy in the foothills of the Alps. The plants are open pollinated, in nature, uncontrolled by hybrid techniques, thus allowing for a wide range of genetic diversity to arise. Farmers selected which seeds to keep based on their good flavor and palatability, red color, and pointed kernels, while the plants developed an ability to germinate and mature in the cool Alpine climate.
This special red corn was reintroduced to the Americas around 2008, when William Rubel, a food historian and writer, visited Italy and brought some back. Coordinating with farmers across the United States, Rubel was able to test it in various locations, effectively returning it to this side of the Atlantic. The farmers decided on the name “Floriani Red,” after the Italian family who gave Rubel the seeds. Similar efforts to revitalize red flint corns on a larger scale are also taking place today in northern Italy.
This Floriani Red corn is particularly important because it is a “landrace,” that is, a traditionally farmed, locally adapted variety with high genetic diversity. As such, it continues to evolve, producing a few yellow and orange cobs on occasion. Genetic diversity can help a species survive new diseases or changing environmental conditions, such as global warming. Our Floriani Red is not genetically modified (non-GMOs), and it is also certified organic.
Flint Corn Versus Dent Corn
Floriani is a flint corn, which has a relatively hard starch outer layer and small amount of soft starch on the inside. Flint corns were grown extensively through the colonial period and predominated in the northeastern United States. As did the Native Americans, the colonial settlers consumed the whole grain, including the germ (sprout) and the bran (seed coat) along with the cornstarch.
Flint corn differs from dent corn, which is the typical corn grown in America today. Dent corns have a thin exterior of hard starch and more soft starch on the interior which, when dry, shrinks to create the characteristic “dent” on the top of the kernel.
Whole-Grain Corn Versus Corn Meal and Grits
We do not remove or separate any portions of our corn when we grind it, and often we just sell the whole kernels—because our customers wish to grind it themselves. Thus, when ground, our Floriani Red is a whole-grain corn, which produces a deep corn flavor.
In contrast, to produce today’s typical meal or grits, the germ and the bran are removed to improve shelf life without refrigeration. This process reduces the nutritional value—and flavor. Drawing the analogy to wheat, cornmeal and hominy grits are like “white” flour, while Floriani is like “whole wheat” flour.
How To Grind and Store Floriani Red
You can also grind the corn very quickly and effectively in a food blender. The blender must have a strong motor or only do a small amount (1 cup or less) at a time. (And smell the deep corn aroma when you take the lid off!) You can also grind the corn with a small grain mill operated by hand or powered by an electric motor, or with a grain mill attachment to your food processor.
You can grind for the texture that you desire. Think of sand—fine, medium, or coarse. Feel the texture to help decide. You will not get a totally uniform size unless you separate the grind with a series of sieves. With most mills you can grind twice for more fineness or you can put the corn through a flour sifter to remove larger particles. You can save the larger particles, which will have a high percentage of the nutrient dense “germ,” to use as a garnish or regrind them.
If you use a blender, you will get a finer grind on the bottom and coarser one on the top. Running the blender longer will create more fine grains—so be careful not to create a powder (flour) unless that is what you want. Pulsing the blender and stirring with a spoon between pulses to lift the fines and allow the coarse particles to fall nearer the blades will give a more consistent grind.
Because your ground Floriani is the whole grain, it will have a light yellow to cream and brown color with pink overtones from the flecks of the red seed coats. It should feel “gritty,” but it should have a small amount of dust (flour) that sticks to your fingers.
Some people prefer a medium grind for polenta and a coarser grind for cornbread. We prefer a coarser grind for both because the variation in particle size gives more interest. Have fun and experiment!
Because your Floriani still contains the germ, you should store your whole corn and your ground corn in the refrigerator for best quality.
Polenta and Cornbread
Floriani will require more cooking time than hominy grits because it contains the germ and the bran and because it contains a much higher percentage of “hard” starch, which takes longer to soften. While some cooks simmer Floriani for up to three hours, we stop at about one hour. A longer cooking time creates a creamier and softer polenta, which might be important if you plan on serving it immediately. We usually cool it in the refrigerator and then cut it into slices or cubes for reheating or sautéing. Some say you can cut the cooking time to 20 minutes in a pressure cooker.
Pungo Creek Dent Corn
Origin
Pungo Creek dent corn comes from an Eastern Shore heirloom, grown for 165 years by Pungo Creek, Virginia farmers. Genetic analysis shows it to be a descendant of Bloody Butcher, a predominantly red kernelled corn introduced in Virginia in 1845. Pungo Creek corn, however, is beautifully multi-colored.
Very little is known about Bloody Butcher’s origins. One apocryphal story recounts a young kidnapped girl escaping her Native American captors by swimming the Ohio River with these seeds in her pocket—the girl was much more likely to have survived the wet ordeal than were the seeds.
Some speculate that Bloody Butcher resulted from the early pioneers crossing various local Native American seeds grown in the region for centuries with varieties the settlers had developed. The pioneers started intentionally cross pollinating corn in the early 1800’s and naming their new varieties. Dent varieties were usually crosses between the harder and small kernelled “flint” varieties with softer larger kernelled flour or “gourd seed” varieties.
Recent History
Pungo Creek is a very hardy, large eared, multi-colored variety able to tolerate drought as well as resist falling over in wet years when it can easily grow to 12 feet and produce two or more heavy ears per stalk. American farmers both east and west of the Mississippi grew and locally adapted various Bloody Butcher varieties well into the 20th century.
In the early 1920’s Henry A Wallace, an earlier developer of hybrid corn seed and a founder of what became Pioneer Hi-Bred International, used Bloody Butcher inbred lines as one cross to produce the Copper Cross hybrid. In 1924, this seed became the first commercially available corn hybrid seed sold in the Corn Belt. It was sold as: “Plant yellow seed and harvest copper-colored seed.” Wallace went on to become Secretary of Agriculture and Vice President under President Roosevelt and Commerce Secretary under President Truman. Wallace subsequently ran unsuccessfully for President against Truman in 1948.
How to Use
We sell the whole grain to our customers who create various products such as cornmeal, for bread and polenta, and masa, for tortillas, tamales, and pupusas.
Masa is corn that has been cooked in water and hydrated lime to break down the corn cell structure. It is rinsed, dried, and ground finely. When water is added to the resulting flour or powder, the masa forms a thick dough similar to wheat flour. Regular cornmeal will not form a thick dough when cool water is added because, unlike wheat, it does not contain gluten.
Check out our recipe section for ideas on how to use our corn meals.
Seed Production
Today Pungo Creek is valued for its flavor, nutritional profile, and color for cornmeal, bread, polenta, masa, pozole, tortillas, tamales, and pupusas. Because of its richly varied colors, its ears also make impressive decorative Indian corn.
At Nick’s Organic Farm the seed is constantly being selected to improve its growing characteristics, such as resistance to lodging (falling over). Ears are also being selected for higher yield potential and quicker drying on the stalk.
Ears selectively bred for seed production are picked by hand, air dried, and gently shelled in antique corn shellers that preserve the quality of the seed coats. We put the seed through small seed cleaners to gently remove small bits of cracked seed, cob and leaf.
Grain Production
In contrast to our seed production, we harvest the corn for grain in the fall with our combine. We aerate the corn with fans in bins and wagons to take out field heat and excess moisture. This aeration process stabilizes the corn so that it preserves its nutrient value and does not rot or ferment.
We also dust the corn with diatomaceous earth, also known as DE, to prevent grain meal moth damage. DE is a non-toxic white powder derived from grinding fossilized shells from tiny sea creators called diatoms. The shells are a crystalized form of calcium, and DE is routinely added into all white flour sold by supermarkets to control moths.
We grind our corn grain into livestock feeds, mainly a layer and a broiler feed for our chickens and turkeys.
Making Cornmeal
We have a small stone mill, and we freshly grind cornmeal for our customers. The stone burr in the mill, unlike a metal burr used in some mills, will not heat up and destroy the natural enzymes in the cornmeal. As a result, our whole grain meal should be refrigerated to preserve maximum nutrient value.
Unlike most store bought cornmeal, our cornmeal still contains all of its germ and bran, making it a very nutrient dense food. Our cornmeal is similar in this way to whole wheat flour as opposed to white flour. It is no accident that corn was central to the survival of many of the Indian tribes—the corn they ate had a higher protein profile and nutritional value, similar to our heritage Indian corns. And of course, the Indians ground their corn with stones.
Cherokee Long Ear Small Popcorn
The Story
The Cherokee Nation probably acquired their popcorn through trade contacts with other Amerindians, but they selected it over time to adapt it to their climate and needs. It is different from most popcorns in that the kernels come in a rainbow of shades: red, blue, orange, white, pink, black, olive, rose, purple and yellow. The kernels are small but yield large “pops,” giving a low hull/corn ratio and great flavor.
The Cherokee found this flint corn to be very versatile, grinding it for cornmeal, picking it as sweet corn, popping it, and added the popped corn to soups and stews. This variety was bred by Carl Barnes, a world-renowned Cherokee corn collector from Oklahoma, from various strains carried west by the Cherokee over the Trail of Tears.
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears is a particularly dishonorable episode in the long history of displacement of aboriginal people to make room for European settlers. The saga began with the Indian Removal Act of 1830 which provided for resettlement of the “five civilized tribes” (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee-Creek, and Seminole) from their homelands in the Southern states to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) west of the Mississippi River. Discovery of gold in Georgia in 1829 prompted many white settlers to lay claims to Cherokee territory, and probably increased support for passage of the Removal Act.
While the Act just barely passed the Congress, it never gave the authority to forcibly remove the tribes, only the authority to pay the tribes for their land and resettlement costs. Strongly supported by President Jackson and later implemented by President Van Buren, the Act was used illegally by the individual states as an excuse to take military action against the tribes. Despite some rulings favorable to the Cherokees from the Supreme Court, Jackson, a former general and Indian fighter, encouraged and supported the individual states in their military endeavors. Jackson is reported to have said that the Supreme Court may have ruled, but they had no power to implement their decision.
The Cherokee were removed in 1838 from North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. The homes and farms of the Cherokee were burned and plundered, as 15,000 men, women and children were rounded up by a military force made up of state militias, regular army, and volunteers under the command of General Winfield Scott. The Cherokee were imprisoned in concentration camps in Tennessee before beginning a 1,000-mile march as winter approached. Most of the Cherokee had to walk, many without shoes or moccasins and little winter clothing except for used blankets from a hospital in Tennessee which had experienced a smallpox epidemic. Some 4,000 Cherokee died either in the camps or on the march from disease, starvation or exposure.
Production
We raise this Cherokee variety for both popcorn and seed. We selectively hand-pick the seed corn ears in order to improve the growing characteristics, such as early dry down and standability. We also harvest some by hand to preserve the husks on the ears. We pull the husks back and tie them in bunches for beautiful fall decorative Indian corn.
In the fall, we pick the remaining popcorn with an antique corn picker, which we set to accept these slim ears. The picker removes the ear from the stalk and then removes the dry husk from the ear. We leave some ears unshelled to sell as decoratives and as microwavable popcorn on the ear.
We air dry all the ears. Then we use antique corn shellers to gently remove the kernels from the cobs. We clean the seed and the grain with small seed cleaners. However, we do not “scour” the kernels to remove the “bees wings” or light, whitish film covering on the seed coat.
Use
We sell whole ears for decoratives or for popping. We pop the whole ears by placing them in a small paper bag and putting them in the microwave for about 75 seconds. Some of the kernels pop off the ear and remain in the bag. Other kernels pop but remain on the cob. These kernels can be eaten like corn on the cob.
We also sell the loose popcorn kernels which make a wonderful rainbow of colors. They are decorative if placed in a glass bowl.
We pop the kernels with an air popper. They can also be popped in a skillet with oil. The pops are white but have a spot of their original color on the bottom. We have found that 4 oz. by volume (4 tbsp. or 1.75 oz. by weight) of unpopped Cherokee corn produces about one quart (32 oz.) by volume of fluffy popped corn.