Maize is one of the cereals group that was found in the American Continent about 7000 years ago and is still the most produced cereal group in the world today. It became widespread throughout the world shortly after North and South America discovered by Europe.

It ranks 3rd in the world in terms of cultivation area, after wheat and paddy. Recently, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, India, France, Indonesia, South Africa and Italy have 79% of the world’s corn production. Worldwide, 60-70% of corn production is used as animal feed, and the remaining 30-40% is used for human consumption.

The maize plant consists of two parts called the male flower, the tassel part, and the female flower, the cob.

When it comes to the maize kernels inside the cob, it consists of 83% endosperm, 11% embryo, which we call maize germ, 5% husk and 1% stalk.

Endosperm: It is basically the starchy part surrounded by protein matrix.

Embryo: It is the part that has a high oil content (33.3%) as well as enzymes and nutritional values related to maize planting, growing and development.

Husk: It is a semi-permeable barrier with a high fiber content (8.8% crude) surrounding the endosperm and maize germ, which covers the entire grain except the stalk.

Stalk: It is the structure through which all moisture and nutritional values pass during development and grain drying.

Maize Production: Maize is planted in the garden as seeds (grains), not as seedlings. When planting maize, care should be taken to have well-ventilated, moist soil. Because it germinates faster in these environments. As maize grows, it gets taller, but its root is actually quite short. When harvest time comes, check whether the tassels are brown and if they are brown, that maize can be harvested easily. Maize harvest is done with combine harvesters.

Maize can be in color is white and yellow. The color of the produced maize is very important for groups especially in Africa, Certain consumers in Central and South America. In these regions white maize preferred for food consumption. The color requested in some regions of world such as North world America may vary depending on the region or depends on the use of the food. For example; In America, coarse grain maize flour, ground while maize and coarse maize flour are white, the country’s maize used for breakfast in the northern part and corn products and snack foods It is preferred that it is produced with maize. The collected maize products are used in food products in large industrial scale for conversion except for businesses, small local scale. It can also be rocessed at home. Some products are discontinued from production and should be consumed immediately, while other a require further processing or commercially available due to its suitability and long shelf life. It is more convenient for use. For example, maize grain ground in processing machines, maize product or maize flour has a long shelf life and can be easily transported and sold.

Maize Flour and Semolina Industry:

The harvested maize is taken to the facilities for processing and goes through various processes. These processes are respectively;

 

Consumption of Maize in the World:

Now let’s talk about which countries in the world consume most maize, which is considered to be of American origin.

The countries with the highest corn consumption in the world are;

1) USA (Approximately 302 million tons)

2) China (Approximately 216 million tons)

3) Brazil (Approximately 55 million tons)

4) Mexico (Approximately 31 million tons)

5) India (Approximately 19 million tons)

Maize, which is consumed less than wheat in Turkey, finds a place in the middle of the world consumption list with a consumption of approximately 8.7 million tons.

Advantages of Maize:

Apart from its wonderful taste and widespread consumption in meals, maize has many health benefits. We can list the health benefits of maize as follows:

  • • Aids digestion
  • • Prevents Anemia
  • • Increases Energy
  • • Lowers LDL Cholesterol
  • • Makes Weight Loss Easier
  • • Prevents Diabetes and Hypertension
  • • Protects Eye Health
  • • Protects from Cancer 
  • • Protects Heart Health
  • • Prevents Alzheimer’s Disease
  • • It is Beneficial for Skin and Hair Health, etc.