This Sunday, 13th April 2008, for COOKARAMA 2008 ~ the main ingredient is CORN.
Yes, you heard it right and see it correct. It’s CORN as in ‘JAGUNG’. I know, I know… the first thing that comes to your mind will be the traditional ‘Corn Soup’. Well, let me go through with you rangers some of the dishes that you can come out with, with ‘jagung’ besides the traditional stuff. Yes, rangers… Do a little bit of experiment, explore you mind, go out of the way, make up something, after all you have nothing to loose but only the stomach of the judges that will be tasting your corny dishes. And who knows, you might just walk away with this year’s Cookarama Challenge Shield.
CORN SALSA
Yes, this one is R2Y cell’s favorite dish, although we haven’t tried it yet. What we did try was spicy salsa chips but you won’t go wrong with adding some corn to it (I hope…)
POLENTA
The name of this dish is Polenta. It consists of thick corn mush with smoked bacon, cinnamon-flavoured sausage, roe deer hotpot, season's mushrooms and a couple of edelweiss for decoration. (hmm… never thought you could come out with this dish eh? Well, the secret of the dish is in the thick corn mush.)
CORN CAKES
For those who are into baking, why not try corn cake? I know the picture looks more like corn cookies but trust me, its corn cakes.
CORN PORRIDGE
And for those of you who are a little bit more adventurous and have a big caring heart for the poor judges, try corn porridge. The picture doesn’t really do the meal justice but I hope it will you do some. I personally won’t want to try this dish… No way…
CORNFLAKES
Well… well… how can we forget our trusty breakfast cereal? Yes, Kelloggs cornflakes! Although please, please don’t just pour fresh milk into a bowl of corn flakes and wa la… the dish of this year. I doubt the judges will give you any marks for that. Make full use of the flakes as part of the dish or decoration or just to add the crispiness… after all, it is made of corn.
And while doing my research on corn meals, I stumble upon this article titled; a world without corn. Well, most of us do not realize how important or what role corn play in our daily living. Here’s some for you to chew on…
Corn and products made from corn improve our lives in thousands of little ways. Often, consumers don’t even know corn is present, let alone know the role it plays. But if corn and its products weren’t available, many common products would be less useful, more expensive, and even unavailable. Here are some examples of the little annoyances and bigger problems we would face without corn:
No frozen pizza! Freezing pizza is a problem, because the moisture in the sauce can migrate into the crust, making it so soggy it’s unappealing to eat. Modified corn starch is used to provide a barrier that prevents water migration and keeps the crust crisp.
On a low-fat diet? Say thank you for corn. Many low-fat foods depend on corn-derived food starches to provide qualities that used to come from fats. Examples include everything from low-fat salad dressing to baked goods and meat products.
Frustrating wallpaper. If you’ve installed wallpaper, you know how important it is to have time to adjust each strip accurately. Repositioning is possible because the wallpaper paste is made with corn starch modified to slow down its adhesive action.
Daily bread buying. Corn syrup prevents waste and saves consumers money by keeping bread fresh longer. By retaining moisture, corn syrup keeps baked goods from drying out too quickly and going stale.
Brown lettuce leaves. Many fruits and vegetables start to turn an unattractive brown once they’re cut and exposed to air. Citric acid, recognized as a safe food ingredient, can prevent browning…and much of the supply of citric acid is made from corn sweeteners.
No coloring for kids. Whether playing with chalk on the sidewalk or crayons in school, children rely on corn. Corn starch is used as a binder to help such products hold together better when in use. It may also be used to dust molds during the manufacturing process so that brand-new crayons pop out undamaged.
Drippy lollipops. Candy makers began using corn syrups in lollipops and other hard candies generations ago because the syrups hold moisture and prevent drips.
Putting the "crunch" in snack foods. When people snack, corn products are more popular than potato chips. In addition to corn and tortilla chips (20% of the snack foods we eat), other snacks such as cheese puffs rely on corn ingredients to provide their crunch.
Packing, storing and moving with corn. Corn starch provides the adhesive to glue down every little ridge in corrugated cardboard. Whether you're taking delivery on a new appliance, boxing old clothes for the church bazaar, or moving across country, you're using corn.
Crystals in ice cream. As a box of ice cream goes in and out of freezers on the way home from the store and in the kitchen, it’s natural for crystals to develop in it. Part of the role corn sweeteners play in ice cream and other frozen desserts is to keep crystals from developing.
What, no plaster board? As viewers of This Old House learned in one episode, corn starch, which helps bind the gypsum filling together, is an essential ingredient in manufacturing gypsum or plaster board for building walls.
Now do we realize how important corn is to us? Let us do our bit in appreciating corn this Sunday, 13th April 2008 and come out with our best CORN dish we can ever… ever imagine.
God bless...
