If we want to eat a good apple, we shop for our favorite variety. So why not do the same when buying sweet corn?

Understanding sweet corn varieties is as easy as knowing which apple you want to buy. In a nutshell, corn is all about sugar and starch. Field corn, grown for cows, has almost all starch and no sugars. 50 years ago the highest sugar content of sweet corn was only 13-18% and lost its sugars in hours. This 1st generation of sweet corn was the corn most of us grew up with.

In the 1970’s a 2nd generation of sweet corn categories emerged. Commonly called “super sweet,” these were Heterozygous or Homozygous Sugar Enhanced “S.E.” and Shrunken Enzyme varieties. They had higher sugar contents, but focused only on sugars, and they still did not keep well. Most corn you find on the market today is from this 2nd generation of varieties.

In the 21st century a 3rd generation of sweet corn categories has been developed called Synergistics or Augmented Sh2’s with sugar content in the 50% range and very good holding capacity. They will keep in the refrigerator for a full week with no loss of taste. Most importantly, however, this 3rd generation brings highly complex flavors and tenderness to sweet corn.

But nothing comes without a price. These new corns are more expensive to produce; so many growers continue offering the older varieties, sometimes trucking them in from across the country for early arrival. An unwary consumer might not know what he is getting.

Be sure to ask your vendor the category and origin of his corn. Remember, sweet corn varieties are as different tasting as apples