Corn Whiskey, Corn Medicine, Corn Smut… Eat, Drink and Feel No Pain?

Believe it or not, the black fungus smut that grows on sweet corn is a gourmet delicacy. The natives would collect the corn smut when young; boil in water for 10 minutes, than fry crisp in a hot pan.

The Iroquois favorite was roasted green corn. This was corn in the soft sugary stage. To cook they would dig a long trench and create a hot coal bed in it. They would then lay two long poles a cob length apart over the trench. The cobs were then placed across the two sticks and turned to roast over the coals.

Green corn was also a delicacy boiled, with animal marrow spread on.



In the green corn stage, corn kernels were often cut raw from the cob with a flint scrapper as shown above. The cut kernels were mixed with boiled beans, sunflower seeds and some meat. This blend was rolled together to make a delicious sticky corn ball called Indian Succotash. The Indians would sometimes add the oil from boiled crushed hickory nuts for a different creamy flavor.

For long term storage, green corn was dried. After picking the green corn, it was half cooked in boiling water. To take the kernels off, a small pointed stick was run between the rows to loosen for hand shelling. After hand shelling the kernels were dried for 4 days and put into storage. Drying the green corn this way intensified the sweetness, giving a caramel taste.

The concept of popcorn came from the First Nations. The Indians took corn kernels and popped them over a coal bed… this was called "Parched Corn". Popping the corn preserved the flavor, made it storable and a lightweight traveling food. When needed they would grind the corn to a meal… mix it with wood ash and dried bean ash. To eat this dried mixture they added two parts water to one part parched corn. Traveling Indians could survive on 200 Gms of parched corn a day.

Ash cooking was another essential way of preparing corn for food. Wood ash was added to boiling water with mature corn kernels. This chemical process removes the skin. The kernels without the skin look like white peas. The Iroquois /Algonquin called it “Sagamite”. This was done by adding two handfuls of oak/maple ash to 3 liters of water. The ash water mixture had to be strong enough to bite the tongue when tasting. The corn was brought to a boil until it swelled. The kernel skins could then be slipped off by squeezing the kernel between the fingers.



Cornmeal is corn flour! In the early 1920’s many Iroquois were still grinding corn in their traditional way. They would hollow out a block of red oak by burning and gouging. (stone gouge shown above) and then make a 2 meter pounding pestle out of maple, ironwood or hickory. One to four women in succession might pound, making a game of it. This is how they created their flour meal for cakes.

In 1753 one French explorer records that one tribe had over 42 styles of corn cookery. He was impressed with their high degree of cuisine skills.

Corn is one plant that seems to have a split personality… it is used as a cereal grain… and it is used as a sweet corn vegetable.

The Indians use to get a corn sugar from the stalks. They would collect small green stocks (the size of asparagus) and chew on them to yield a sweet sugar juice. For larger quantities they would press the stalks in bundles to extract juice, than boil down to syrup.

The Iroquois also used the stalk juice as a medicine. They would store this medicine using the corn stalk as a medicine bottle with a plug on top. The juice was used as a wound lotion.

Corn silk on the end of the cob was brewed as a tonic tea for kidney relief. The silks off one cob were collected and put in a cup. Then hot water was poured over the silks and steeped for 15 minutes before drinking.

Corn cobs were burned to make “corn coal” a medicine for hogs to prevent the runs. This was done by thoroughly charring the corn cobs, wetting them with water salt brine and then feeding them to the pigs.

Corn cobs were also used for smoking meat to flavor.

The Iroquois strictly used corn as a food source. They had no knowledge of “moonshine”. But the Incas definitely did.

The Incas fermented corn for a drink. The enzymes of their brew not only made them happy, but it was very nutritious. The corn was first ground and put in pots of water. When softened in the pot, other corn was put in the mouth and chewed. This chewed corn was spit out and added to the ground corn in the water. It was then boiled for 4 hours and cooled. Next it was poured through a cloth strainer. The strained liquid was then stored in pots in a dark place for two weeks before drinking. The longer it sat… the better it got.

Corn was the staple diet among the Iroquois. In the Iroquois legends, corn arrived when the Sky Woman’s daughter died. When the daughter was covered by the earth… corn grew from her body first… then beans and squash. Corn was the Iroquois trading power with the Algonquin Nations. From trade they acquired furs and fish. Corn was critical for the First Nations of this area… it guaranteed survival until the spring!

If wishing a hiking classroom to learn about First Nations plants and trees visit this link.