I live in California I am from N.Y. and I remember

[busterbrown]

when I was a kid corn on the cob was best in late summer. Now it seems that whenever I
buy corn it always has a very sweet taste even in off seasons.
My question is: Does anyone else think this has to do with GMOs?

[KamaAina]

1. Could have to do with California's longer growing season.

Lots of stuff is just better out here, e.g. strawberries.

[hedgehog]

2. There are new hybrids ( not GMO) that are super-sweet.

Some people prefer the more complex, less sweet flavors of the older varieties. Modern hybrids hold their sugar longer, so corn on the cob is shipped year round from Florida.

[busterbrown]

4. Thanks!

[surrealAmerican]

3. When was this?

The super-sweet varieties are a relatively recent "innovation" (in the last 30 years or so). You may have grown up before they were developed.

[Denninmi]

5. Well, yes, it's possible, but that has nothing to do with the flavor.

The GMO corn varieties now have the BT gene (Bacillus thuringensis) which makes them immune to caterpillar attack, or the "Roundup Ready" gene which makes them immune to the herbicide Roundup. But neither of those have anything to do with flavor or brix, which is the unit of sugar content.

However, the reason sweet corn is so sweet now is an overall consumer preference for that. So, breeders have concentrated over the past 40-50 years, ever since the introduction of the first hybrid "Supersweet" corn, which was Illini Chief back in the late 50's or early 60's, on increasing the sugar content as well as delaying the conversion of sugar to starch in the kernel.

There are three main classes now, the SE (Sugary Enhanced) gene, the Sh2 (Shrunken) gene, and the newest, known as Synergistic Hybrids because they have both genes. The Sh2 corns are the sweetest, but tend to have poor germination in cool soils and the seed is most expensive. Most commercial growers have now switched to Synergistic hybrids because they combine the best of both.

Some people object to the very sweet taste of the newer varieties of corn. Many backyard growers will grow either older corn, with the original SU (sugary) gene, and some even grow various types of "Field corn" mostly "Dent" genetics, to eat as corn on the cob.

You may be able to find some of the less sweet corns at farmer's markets, but anything from the grocery store is NOT going to be that.

[busterbrown]

7. Cool info, thanks....

[Kali]

8. dent for green corn tamales too

good explanation

corn has been human-modified for so long it can not exist without us (teosinte excepted, of course)

[HopeHoops]

6. Hybrids. Most fresh corn is some form of hybrid now. And I actually consider silkworms a good thing.

If you find silk worms, you know they didn't bathe the crop in pesticides.