Blue corn ✦

Maïs bleu

What it is

The colour is anthocyanin, the same pigment class as in blackcurrant, sitting in the aleurone layer where grinding cannot remove it. Hopi growers sow the seed a foot or more down into dry sand so the shoot reaches buried moisture — a landrace trait a modern short-shoot hybrid simply cannot manage.

In the kitchen

The pigment is a pH indicator: a pinch of culinary lime or wood ash in the water holds the blue-grey, while any acid — buttermilk, lemon, a sour starter — turns the same batter pink. Decide which colour you want before you mix, not after.

Goes with

Pinyon pine nut Honey Butter Chili pepper Cheddar Lime Pumpkin seed

Same species

Instant modified waxy maize starch Corn Cornstarch Dextrose Hominy (nixtamalised corn) Masa harina

Also used with

Culinary lime (cal)

In season alongside

Fairy ring mushroom Romanesco Bell pepper Borlotti bean Brussels sprout Butternut squash

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