what is the corn in corned beef?

Answer 1

In the cow that provided the beef. The technical term is actually "corned beef," which refers to the process by which the meat is cured. I was told that the process was invented in London in the 1700's by a chemist.

Here's a recipe from Civil War days:

CORNING BEEF

Round, brisket or other solid piece of beef
Coarse or kosher salt
Saltpeter
Brown sugar

Rub each piece of beef well with salt mixed with one tenth part of saltpeter, until the salt lies dry upon the surface. Put aside in a cold place for twenty-four hours, and repeat the process, rubbing in the mixture very thoroughly. Put away again until the next day, by which time the pickle should be ready.

5 gallons of water
1 gallon of salt
4 ounces saltpetre
1 and 1/2 lb. brown sugar

Boil this brine ten minutes; let it get perfectly cold; then pour over the beef, having wiped the latter entirely dry. Examine the pickle from time to time to see if it keeps well; if not, take out the meat without delay, wipe it, and rub in dry salt, covering it well until you can prepare new and stronger brine.

Answer 2

Corned beef is beef that is first pickled in brine and then cooked by boiling. Usually, cuts of meat are used that feature long muscle grain, such as the brisket.

The name corned beef is due to a coarse salt used in the pickling process. Corn originally meant grain, as in a small particle of something, and referred to the corns of salt. Corned beef does not actually contain corn, as is sometimes believed.

Have a look:

http://www.jewishrecipes.org/jewish-foods/corned-beef.html

Answer 3

There is no corn in corned beef. Corning is the process similar to brining in which you soak the cut of meat in a salt water solution several hours sometimes days before cooking.

Answer 4

Corning is a form of curing; it has nothing to do with corn. The name comes from Anglo-Saxon times before refrigeration. In those days, the meat was dry-cured in coarse "corns" of salt. Pellets of salt, some the size of kernels of corn, were rubbed into the beef to keep it from spoiling and to preserve it.

Today brining -- the use of salt water -- has replaced the dry salt cure, but the name "corned beef" is still used, rather than "brined" or "pickled" beef. Commonly used spices that give corned beef its distinctive flavor are peppercorns and bay leaf. Of course, these spices may vary regionally.

Answer 5

The word corned describes the way the beef was cured. It has nothing to do with the grain corn. By the way, years ago the word corn meant grain. They spoke of barley corn, wheat corn, etc. The corn as we know it was not known in Europe or Asia until after the Europeans came to America.
If you read a lot of history of the Roman empire, you'll read about the corn ration, corn shipping, etc. They meant grain.

Answer 6

I think the word corn comes from Anglo Saxon times they dried cured them in coarse corns of salt ,Pellets of salt the size of kernels of corn rubbed on the beef to preserve it.

Answer 7

There is none.

Corn comes from the fact that the salt granules used to make the brine used to salt the beef were as large as corn grains.

NB: What Americans call Corned Beef is referred to in t he UK as Salt Beef - to most Brits Corned Beef is a tinned product where meat that is cured as salt beef, shredded, then reformed with fat to hold it together.

Sure surprised me 1st time I ate US style corned beef, and got slices of proper meat (almost as surprising as getting a stew, instead of what is normally thought of as a kebab, when ordering an Adana Kebab for the 1st time in Turkey)

Answer 8

There is no corn in corned beef. It relates to when it was first made the shredded beef was about the size of a corn kernal.

Answer 9

No corn in corned beef, it's called corned beef because the cows are corn-fed.

Answer 10

The cows are on a corn fed diet.Meaning corn is their main feed.Hence corn beef.