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Comment by DougN7 | Hacker News Reader

My friends in Switzerland 30 years ago thought corn was only for animals. It took some convincing for them to try American-style corn on the cob (which is delicious!)

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An Austrian friend of mine had a story about how he went back home and, during the visit, made polenta, and an older relative became horrified. Marshall Plan corn meal was something they were forced to eat (from lack of anything else) during the years just after WW2, and it brought back memories.

This happened to me with an older Dutch friend. It took a while to figure out why he would never eat corn tortillas or corn pupusas while in Central America. It was until some months later they told me they considered corn as animal food and didn't want to taste it.

I've tasted most animal food I've come across just out of curiosity. :P

Do you think he would try Cui in Peru? I ate a head, the thing is definitely a rat. That is part of the adventure! :)

Edit: probably not a good idea to eat rat at home. Or tortillas. Or anything delicious that is culturally forbidden.

Cuy is guinea pig, not rat, but I hear you on the rodent flavor. Worth it once for the experience but I wouldn’t eat it a second time!

Dent corn vs. sweet corn. One of these is good for animals, while the other is great with butter.

Both are fine. I resent the idea that one of them is simply animal feed.

If you don't know what you're doing, it's easy to luck into tasty sweet corn. If you don't (read: Europeans, historically) you're likely to give your peasants pellagra.

As a taco/tamale/posole/hominy fan, I agree with you and am ashamed of my insinuation. I'll strive to do better.

There is not just one type of corn on Earth

Fact check needed, but doesn't 'corn' mean '[primary]staple', officially? So what Americans call 'corn' is technically Maize, according to that view. Somewhere else the 'corn' could be rice -- again on that view.

Edit: [1].definition#3> a cereal grass that is the primary crop of a region (such as wheat in Britain and oats in Scotland and Ireland)

[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corn

Pumpkin is for pigs, in some countries. Turnips for sheep, in others.

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