What you see along highways and across the Midwest is mostly field corn—dent corn—grown not for taste, but for utility. It’s harvested late, when the kernels are tough and dry, so the dense starch can be turned into livestock feed, ethanol, corn syrup, cereal, plastics, and countless additives. You rarely bite into it directly, but it quietly shapes your daily life, from the fuel in your car to the sweetener in your snacks.
Comparing Field Corn and Sweet Corn
