Corn: A Fruit, Vegetable, Grain, or All Three?

Abstract

When many people think of corn, they think of warm evenings with family and friends enjoying the delicious, crisp bits of sweet, buttery-tasting corn on the cob as part of the summer and fall bounties. Others may think of the aroma of dried corn kernels being popped for a movie night or being ground and prepared to make masa and corn tortillas. Still, others, particularly ranchers and dairy producers, may think of growing field corn as silage and as grain for feeding their livestock. All of these different activities revolve around corn, and yet corn is not categorized into one food group. Depending on the type of corn grown, when in its lifecycle it is harvested, and how corn is consumed or utilized, it can be classified either as a fruit, vegetable, or grain.