Recently, someone offered me a piece of salami. Without much thought—or even a glance at the package—I waved it off, letting them know there was corn in it. The look I got in return reminded me that not everyone’s familiar with the crop’s many byproducts. Of course, I didn’t mean actual kernels, but I’m also super tired of explaining myself.
Pick up a package of processed or prepared food, turn it over, and read the ingredients. I’d be surprised if whatever it is you’re holding doesn’t contain some version corn—and some might be surprised to learn it does.
Corn can go by many names, and it’s extremely versatile, used as a sweetener, thickener, emulsifier, preservative, filler, anti-caking agent, and much more. Google corn derivatives and you’ll come across a list of hundreds of words—the most common I’ve seen being glucose-fructose, dextrose, maltodextrin, sorbitol, and many more.
Depending on the brand, corn can be found in table salt, icing sugar, baking powder, and baker’s yeast. Corn also shows up in medicine, cosmetics, self-care products, plastics, and alcohol. Then there are the places it lurks undisclosed—sometimes in tea bags and on chocolate chips, to name just a couple.
Really, corn is a wonder crop—it feeds a lot and it’s versatile—unless you need to avoid it.
So, next time I say there’s corn in this spice mix or that coconut milk, I might mean one of its derivatives—and I’m probably right.