In article ,
Martin writes:
|
| Yes. Fully ripe means that you should get over 95% germination rate on
| saved seeds.
|
| We eat them first.

Precisely. Sweetcorn is unripe maize, before the sugars have been
converted to starch.

| Have you seen truly ripe maize?
|
| I think so. I am sure you are going to tell me I am wrong :-)

How perspicacious you are!

You may have done, but I don't think that you will have done in the
UK, and probably not even in northern France. There is a fairly
long ripening period (needing some warmth and quite a lot of sun)
after the maize has ceased to be worth eating as sweetcorn before
it is fully ripe. In a suitable climate, all of the sugars are
converted to starch before the kernels start drying out, and so
they end up a lot less shrivelled than dried UK ones become.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.