Maize

Zea maysAlso called corn

Maize is a cereal grain. Cooks ferment its seeds.

Plant-based
Gluten-free
No listed allergens

About the plain ingredient, not packaged products; general information, not medical advice. Details

Category: Grains, flours & pasta
Part used: Seed
Family: Poaceae
Cooked most in: Africa, Asia
Top country: Indonesia
Dishes: 5 in the catalogue

Photo: Tanvir Rahat · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In the kitchen

How to use maize

Typical ways to cook or use it

Ferment

Preparing it

Maize can be soaked in alkaline water made with ashes and lime. Maize can be ground into cornmeal.

Around the world

Where maize is cooked

5 dishes in the catalogue use maize. Here is where they come from.

Dishes by continent

Africa2
Asia1

Countries whose dishes use it most

Counts are catalogued dishes from each country that list maize among their ingredients.

Origins

First cultivated: in Mexico

The 1500s · Africa
The Portuguese introduced maize to Africa in the 16th century.
The 1600s · Southern Europe
Maize was a common food among peasants in Southern Europe by the 17th century.
The 1700s · France and Italy
By the 18th century, maize was a chief food among peasants in southern France and Italy.

On the table

Dishes made with maize

5 dishes in the catalogue use it.

Sahoaba
Madagascar
Dambu
Niger, Nigeria
Katemak
Indonesia
Bramata
Corn salad

Dish lists come from Wikidata; a dish counts when its recorded ingredients include maize.

Good to know

Diet and allergens: maize in detail

These notes describe the plain ingredient. Packaged and prepared products vary, so read the label; for allergies and medical diets ask a doctor or dietitian.

Allergens: None of the 15 listed allergens foundChecked and not found: soy, eggs, fish, milk, lupin, wheat, celery, sesame, mustard, peanuts, molluscs, sulphites, tree nuts, crustaceans, gluten cereals.
Animal origin: No animal ingredients foundChecked and not found: egg, fish, meat, dairy, honey, insect, gelatin, poultry, bone char, shellfish, other animal, animal fining, animal rennet.
Gluten: None
Alcohol: None
Caffeine: None
Pork: None

Family

Related forms

Made from it: cornmeal (dried, ground), corn oil (extracted), corn starch (dried, extracted), maize flour (dried, ground)
Kinds: popcorn, sweet corn
Varieties: popcorn, sweet corn

Around the world

What maize is called

Names in 44 languages, from Wikidata.

Spanish
maíz · choclo · maiz
French
maïs · mays · blé d’Inde
Italian
mais · granoturco
Portuguese
milho
German
Mais
Dutch
maïs
Greek
καλαμπόκι
Russian
маис · кукурузное зерно · кукуруза
Polish
kukurydza
Arabic
الذرة
Chinese
玉米
Japanese
トウモロコシ

Show all 44 languages

Aghem
Aso
Armenian
մաիս
Basque
kontserbako arto · artoa
Belarusian (Taraskievica orthography)
маіс · кукуруза
Brazilian Portuguese
milho · abati · auati · avati
Bulgarian
царевица
Catalan
dacsa · blat de moro · moresc · panís
Czech
kukuřice
dag
Kariwana · Kawana
Danish
majs
Esperanto
maizo
Estonian
mais
Finnish
maissi
Frafra
kareyɛna
Galician
millo
Hausa
Masara
Hungarian
kukorica
Inari Sami
maissâ
Irish
grán buí
kus
Kawεnna
Latvian
kukurūza
Lithuanian
kukurūzai
Malayalam
ചോളം
Maltese
qamħ-ir-rum
Mossi
kamaana · kaafo
Pontic
λαζούδ · μισίριν
Slovenian
koruza · Zea mays
Swahili
Mahindi
Swedish
majsfrö
Swiss German
Mais · Maischörner · Maismähl
Traditional Chinese
玉米
Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong SAR China)
粟米
Ukrainian
кукурудзяне зерно · кукурудза (зерно) · зерно кукурудзяне · зерно кукурудзи
Upper Sorbian
kukurica · majs
Welsh
indrawn

Sources and credits

Data

GlobeCooks editorial: descriptions, kitchen notes and classification, written by GlobeCooks from checked sources
Wikidata: names, classification and dishes (CC0 1.0)
Wikimedia Commons: photos
Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Wikidata item: Q25618328

Photos