Agricultural Information:

Family: Asparagaceae
Scientific name: Zea mays

Corn is the third most widely grown crop in the world, following wheat and rice. With hundreds of cultivated varieties, it serves diverse purposes from human consumption eaten fresh, cooked, popped, ground, and processed into sweeteners and oils, to animal feed, biodegradable materials, and even fuel production.

Historical Information:

Corn is referenced frequently in Tanach as a crop that was planted and harvested with the first reference being in the blessing that Yitzchak gives to his son Yaakov. Later, in Pharaoh’s dream interpreted by Yosef, ears of corn symbolize the seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. It is this grain that sustains Egypt and draws people from surrounding nations, including Yosef’s brothers, to purchase food during the famine.

Halachic Information:

Kitnyot/Legumes on Passover: The Iggeros Moshe explains that the minhag of avoiding kitniyot applies only to foods originally included in the custom. For example, potatoes arrived in Europe after the minhag was established and so they were not included in the original list of kitnyot, which is why they are permitted to be eaten on Pesach despite being able to made into potato flour. However, an exception to this is corn, which is ruled to be kitniyot despite also being introduced to Europe after the minhag began (Mishnah Berurah 453:4).