- Name: Corn, maize
- Type of Food: Cereal grain
- Produced From: Maize (Zea mays)
- Total Calories: 32 (1 ounce serving, whole kernel corn)
- Total Fat: 0.3 grams (1 ounce serving, whole kernel corn)
- Total Protein: 0.9 grams (1 ounce serving, whole kernel corn)
- Total Carbohydrates: 6.6 grams (1 ounce serving, whole kernel corn)
29 Corn Facts for Kids
- Corn is a domesticated cereal crop that is grown for consumption and other applications.
- Corn is a member of the zea genus.
- The scientific binominal name for corn is zea mays.
- Corn is also known as maize outside of the United States of America.
- Corn is usually yellow, but can come in a wide variety of colors, like green, red and white.
- Corn is commonly referred to as a vegetable, but scientifically and botanically its both a grain and a fruit.
- An average corn plant will grow up to 10 feet in height.
- An ear of corn on average has about 800 kernels in 16 rows, but it can have as few as 500 or as many as 1,200.
- An ear of corn has one silk strand for every kernel.
- A bushel of corn weights about 56 pounds.
- Corn is grown on six of the seven continents worldwide; the exception is Antarctica.
- In 2017, the largest producer of corn was the United States of America with over 400 million tons.
- In 2017, the entire world produced over 1.25 billion tons of corn.
- The corn belt is an area in the United States where the majority of corn is grown.
- Corn is used in a wide variety of food products and is consider a staple food in many countries.
- One cup of corn (145 grams) has 125 calories.
- One cup of corn (145 grams) has 2 grams of fat.
- One cup of corn (145 grams) has no cholesterol.
- One cup of corn (145 grams) has 22 milligrams of sodium (salt).
- One cup of corn (145 grams) has 27 grams of carbohydrates.
- One cup of corn (145 grams) has 5 grams of protein.
- One cup of corn (145 grams) has 3 milligrams of calcium, 1 milligram of iron and 390 milligrams of potassium.
- Corn is used to sweeten food in the form of corn syrup.
- One corn bushel is able to sweeten around 400 cans of soda pop.
- Corn is one of the primary sources of livestock feed and fodder.
- Corn is used in the production of several products, like adhesives, fabrics and plastics.
- Corn is used to produce biofuels and is primary source of ethanol production in the United States of America.
- Popcorn is a food that is made by heating up corn kernels until they expand.
- Corn is a commodity traded by investors, traders and price speculators.
Pictures of Corn
A picture of young corn stalks.Credit: MSU / Erick Larson
A pictures of ears of corn.Credit: University of Illinois
A picture of a cornfield.Credit: Metro Creative Connection
A picture of corn on the cob.Credit: The Food Network
A picture of creamed corn.Credit: Food.com
A picture of popcorn.Credit: Orville Redenbacher
Additional Resources on Corn
- Corn Nutrition Facts – View the nutrtional facts for corn on the USDA SNAP-Ed Connection website.
- Benefits of Corn – Discover some of the amazing benefits of corn on the Mayo Clinic website.
- Maize (Corn) – Wikipedia – Find more facts about corn on the Wikipedia website.