Grain
Flint Corn
A tier
Flint corn packs hard outer starch—glassy kernels that grind into polenta-friendly meal and survive cold climates that defeated softer types. Northern Italian polenta traditions, New England colonial fields, and many colourful ornamental flints share this hard endosperm. Flavour is robust and toasty when cooked down slowly with care. Coarse-mill for polenta and johnnycakes; nixtamalise some flints for specialty masa. Ornamental Indian corn is often flint genetics. Needs thorough cooking to soften fully, rewarding patience with deep cereal taste rather than sweetcorn juice.
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
Grading systems
Grades are placed along a shared scale so systems can be compared side by side.
History
Indigenous flint races adapted to northeastern woodlands climates.
Colonial New England relied on flint maize for porridge and bread.
Northern Italy adopted flint-type maize for polenta culture.
Heirloom flints returned via artisan polenta and ornamental markets.