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 For many people on earth, it is a daily food product, for those suffering from gluten allergies, it is a full-fledged substitute for bakery products, and for specialists it is the possibility of preparing various dishes, except for popcorn. Corn or maize, as it is also called, is the second crop after wheat cultivated by mankind. In developed countries, it is used mainly as feed for livestock or as a raw material for the production of bio-fuel for cars.
Only 30% of the total harvest goes to human consumption. These are mainly countries in Africa and Latin America.
For food purposes, sweet corn is most often used - its sweetish taste is the most pleasant. This cereal comes from Mexico. The leader of the Aztecs, Montezuma, called corn a symbol of fertility and wealth. It was brought as a gift to the gods. Currently used in the form of tortilla - flat cakes filled with minced meat or vegetable.
Europeans should pay special attention to corn as a source of B vitamins, ballasts and carotenoids, which together are important for the normal functioning of the muscle and immune systems, as well as energy metabolism in the body. In addition, it contains significant amounts of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron and sodium. For celiac patients, it is an alternative to gluten-containing foods (celiac disease or celiac enteropathy is the destruction of the mucous membrane of the small intestine due to an allergy to food glutens contained in the gluten of cereals, with the exception of millet and rice).
What about popcorn?
Popcorn, a favorite of most movie theater goers, has been proven by American studies to be very useful because it contains up to 40 different plant polyphenols, which are excellent antioxidants. In addition, it is 100% represented by unrefined grains (the most useful in cereals, as you know, is in the shell). It is only important to prepare it correctly - with a minimum of fat (both animal and vegetable), without salt and sugar.
Corn is used to prepare not only food but also drinks such as Bourbon whiskey or some beers. In addition, maltitol and maltodextrin are prepared from it, which are used as food additives, fillers and taste stabilizers.
Corn as a medicinal plant
In folk medicine, corn silk has long been used as a diuretic for diseases of the kidneys, bladder and urinary tract. For these purposes, drinking in the form of tea is used - half a gram of stigmas per cup of boiling water. Drink several times a day. No side effects have been identified.
In conclusion - a recipe for a drink in Mexican
Brew 50 g of corn flour in 50 ml of boiling water, add sugar to taste and beat with a mixer. Add cinnamon and vanilla sticks each for flavor. Add 750 ml of water and heat over low heat, not boiling. As soon as the resulting mass swells, remove from heat, remove cinnamon and vanilla. Serve in tall glasses or ceramic vessels.
Eisenakh L.V.
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