# Corn tassles **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2020, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078 "2020-06-04T22:34:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/21 "2020-06-05T19:03:12Z")
> [@Pasta](#): > > The stuff on the ear of the corn is **the silk**. > > The pollen-releasing growth (male flower) on the top of the whole corn plant is [**the tassel**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detasseling#/media/File:Corntassel_7095.jpg). TIL! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/22 "2020-06-05T20:35:12Z")
But enough about the growing of corn on the cob and the cooking of corn on the cob. Let’s address the important issue: the eating of corn on the cob. Tired of butter and salt? Try mayo and chili-lime spice. Or Italian dressing and grated parmesan cheese. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/23 "2020-06-05T21:38:26Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But enough about the growing of corn on the cob and the cooking of corn on the cob. Let’s address the important issue: the eating of corn on the cob. > > Tired of butter and salt? Try mayo and chili-lime spice. Or Italian dressing and grated parmesan cheese. Butter and Chili Lime spice is my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/24 "2020-06-05T21:55:28Z")
Butter and instant French onion soup powder. No, really. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/25 "2020-06-05T22:23:04Z")
Butter, salt, pepper, and a splash of hot sauce. Now for the REAL important question regarding corn eating - one that will determine everything we need to know about you… Eat corn: A. Around. B. Across. Choose wisely. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/26 "2020-06-06T00:42:22Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Butter, salt, pepper, and a splash of hot sauce. > > Now for the REAL important question regarding corn eating - one that will determine everything we need to know about you… > > Eat corn: > A. Around. > B. Across. > > Choose wisely. A.K.A. “typewriter style” or “cylinder style”. I was about to ask that next myself. Save those gnawed corn cobs, BTW, for the day the Great Toilet Paper Famine really hits. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/27 "2020-06-06T01:45:37Z")
Pardon me for interrupting this well answered thread with an observation that Corn Tassles would be an excellent name for a Jug Band. Maybe a Skiffle band. Do they play skiffle anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/28 "2020-06-06T02:23:39Z")
Dumb question. But a long time ago I was on Pelle Island on Lake Erie, and encountered some college girls who were employed to remove the tassels from corn stalks. Why did they do this? ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/29 "2020-06-06T02:31:28Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Dumb question. But a long time ago I was on Pelle Island on Lake Erie, and encountered some college girls who were employed to remove the tassels from corn stalks. Why did they do this? Strain A is planted in certain rows and Strain B is in others. Looking at the rows from a drone: A A A A B B A A A A Yank the tassels from A rows before they can mature and the only pollen produced comes from the B rows. Then rely on wind or helicopters to spread it around to create a hybrid. > **[Detasseling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detasseling)** > > Detasseling corn is removing the pollen-producing flowers, the tassel, from the tops of corn (maize) plants and placing them on the ground. It is a form of pollination control, employed to cross-breed, or hybridize, two varieties of corn. > Fields of corn that will be detasseled are planted with two varieties of corn. Removing the tassels from all the plants of one variety leaves the grain that is growing on those plants to be fertilized by the tassels of the other, resulting in a hybrid. In addit... Mendel would have been proud. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/30 "2020-06-06T05:34:59Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Butter, salt, pepper, and a splash of hot sauce. > > Now for the REAL important question regarding corn eating - one that will determine everything we need to know about you… > > Eat corn: > A. Around. > B. Across. > > Choose wisely. I eat across. And except for the first row I eat, I eat it by sort of prying the kernals off with my teeth, so they come off cleanly. When I’m done I only have messy sticky wasted bits of corns stuck to the cob for about 3 rows of kernals. This is the correct way to eat cord on the cob. My husband was raised in a barn and eats it around, leaving a mess everywhere. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/31 "2020-06-06T09:33:53Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Dumb question. But a long time ago I was on Pelle Island on Lake Erie, and encountered some college girls who were employed to remove the tassels from corn stalks. Why did they do this? Pelee Island. From French _pélée_, literally ‘peeled’, because it’s bare of trees. It’s the second-southernmost point of Canada, except for nearby Middle Island, the southernmost of Canada. Nearby Point Pelee is the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland. Growing up in Ohio, it was the nearest foreign land. I could just see the islands across the lake from Ohio’s Put-In-Bay. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/32 "2020-06-07T20:15:45Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Strain A is planted in certain rows and Strain B is in others. Looking at the rows from a drone: > > A A A A B B A A A A > > Yank the tassels from A rows before they can mature and the only pollen produced comes from the B rows. Then rely on wind or helicopters to spread it around to create a hybrid. > > [Detasseling - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detasseling) > > Mendel would have been proud. I had the job of detasseling for a couple summers for Pioneer. Terrible, hot, sweaty, and itchy job. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/33 "2020-06-08T17:25:07Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Yesterday, **Senegoid** learned every kernel has its own tassel. > > Today, I learned some people microwave corn. > > Well all learn sumpin’ new every day. Just one of the [10,000](https://xkcd.com/1053/). ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/34 "2020-06-09T02:31:28Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Just one of the [10,000](https://xkcd.com/1053/). According to the thread list page, this thread has been viewed a bit over 1300 times. Still got a ways to go. It’s taking longer than you thought. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/35 "2020-06-09T02:32:56Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Does corn have any substantial supply of vitamins or minerals? If so, does boiling it tend to wash out some, as is often said about boiling other veggies? > > I cook other kinds of vegs in the microwave with just minimal water for this reason, as commonly suggested. I assume the same advice holds for corn? Is that so? It’s also taking longer than I thought for someone to answer this. Anybody? ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/36 "2020-06-09T04:06:55Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Strain A is planted in certain rows and Strain B is in others. Looking at the rows from a drone: > > A A A A B B A A A A > > Yank the tassels from A rows before they can mature and the only pollen produced comes from the B rows. Then rely on wind or helicopters to spread it around to create a hybrid. > > [Detasseling - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detasseling) > > Mendel would have been proud. Uh – won’t the ears in the B rows NOT be hybrids? Or do you just not harvest those rows? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/37 "2020-06-09T04:16:19Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > It’s also taking longer than I thought for someone to answer this. > > Anybody? Your question-- “does boiling it tend to wash out some, as is often said about boiling other veggies?” I can make an educated guess. When the kernel is still attached to the cob, there’s no opening out of the interior of the kernels for any liquid or nutrients to escape, so you’re not going to lose anything like you would if you boiled cut kernels in water and all the juices came out. It should be the same, nutrient-wise, as grilling/roasting them, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/38 "2020-06-09T04:24:36Z")
Boiling does remove a lot of flavor, steaming cooks fast and minimizes the degradation of nutrients while maintaining flavor. You’re also cheating yourself if you don’t steam corn with some corn oil. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/39 "2020-06-09T05:48:07Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Since it was produced by selection for mutations in the ancestral plant (and ones that are actually detrimental to reproduction in the wild) you would have to wait around for such mutations to occur (or search perhaps millions of wild plants). And then some genes apparently came in through hybridization with related species. It would be impossible to predict, and it might be impossible under any conditions (aside from genetic engineering). Maize is an ancient polyploid, as well as having extremely repetitive DNA (retrotransposons comprise \>50% of the genome). It would take a lot more than simple breeding to recreate the ancestral maize genome. Better to start with teosinte, which more closely resembles the ancestral diploid state than modern maize. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078/40 "2020-06-09T07:55:17Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Does corn have any substantial supply of vitamins or minerals? 1 cup of corn contains 5.4 grams of protein, 41 grams of carbs, 4.6 grams of fiber, 17% of your needed daily vitamin C, 24% of B1, 19% of folate, 11% of magnesium, 10% of potassium. Corn also contains both lutein and zeaxanthin which promote eye health and good vision and might help prevent macular degeneration (not yet proven). The downsides are that all those carbs are mostly starch which can spike your blood sugar if you have any issues in that area, refined corn products can lose a lot of nutrients, as can the length/manner of cooking. Vitamin C is particularly vulnerable to heat, so prolong cooking methods are likely to degrade that. > [@Senegoid](#): > > If so, does boiling it tend to wash out some, as is often said about boiling other veggies? I could not find information on that specifically, but what **needscoffee** said about whole vs. cut probably applies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-tassles/855078.md?page=3)