# Little corns

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-corns/6951>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 8, 2000, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-corns/6951 "2000-02-08T14:15:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-corns/6951/1 "2000-02-08T14:15:00Z")

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What are these “little corns” we find at salad bars and even in Chinese food sometimes? Are they a genetic invention? I never remember seeing such things until circa 1985ish(???). I’d find it hard to believe that they ARE actually little ears of undeveloped corn. I mean, would you eat the little beginnings of a peach, for example?

{I guess I can accept baby carrots, but I wouldn’t expect them to have much flavor so young.} Any horticulture experts?

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-corns/6951/2 "2000-02-08T14:18:00Z")

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Hi Jinx! (I just wanted to say that.)  
I think I read somewhere (possibly on TSD) that baby corn is actually… baby corn!

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**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-corns/6951/3 "2000-02-08T15:40:00Z")

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[http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000067.html](http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000067.html)

This link is for a Mailbag Answers Forum thread from last year, which putatively discussed an answer by SDSAB member Melis that referenced the issue of baby corn. I can’t get the archives to divulge the mailbag article in question, however. Further, despite the fact I can’t get the MB search function to show it, I swear we discussed this in a thread recently on GQ, concluding that baby corn is just that, small corn.

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**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-corns/6951/4 "2000-02-08T16:48:00Z")

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Baby corn [varieties and planting data](http://www.orst.edu/Dept/NWREC/babycorn.html).  
Baby corn and [more than you’ll ever want to know](http://agsyst.wsu.edu/babycorn.htm).

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-corns/6951/5 "2000-02-09T17:42:00Z")

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Thanks to all! It just didn’t seem to be true. (How tall are the cornstalks?)