Blue corn

Blue corn (also known as Hopi maize) is a variety of flint maize grown in Mexico and the Southwestern United States, particularly in the states of Arizona and New Mexico. It is one of the main types of corn used for the traditional Southern and Central Mexican food known as tlacoyo.

It was originally developed by the Hopi, and remains an essential part of Hopi dishes like piki bread. Blue corn meal is a corn meal that is ground from whole blue corn and has a sweet flavor. It is also a staple of New Mexican cuisine.

In addition to its sharply different color, blue corn has several nutritional advantages over standard yellow or white corn varieties. It contains 20 percent more protein and has a lower glycemic index than white corn. When used to make tortillas, blue corn produces a sweeter, nuttier taste than yellow or white corn, and is a more complete protein source. A certain technique is used to grind the blue maize to make it release niacin.

Varieties

Different varieties of blue corn range in color from powdery gray to nearly black. There are three varieties of the blue corn: "standard" blue (sakwaqa'ö), hard blue (huruskwapu), and gray-blue (maasiqa'ö). Because of its hard kernels, huruskwapu is most resistant to storage pests and traditionally was the preferred variety for storing. When the grinding was all done by hand, women preferred using maasiqa'ö because it is soft and easier to grind but the color was not as vibrant as that of the sakwaqa'ö or huruskwapu.

Blue Corn

Blue Corn (c. 1920 – May 3, 1999), also known as Crucita Calabaza, was a Native American potter from San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, in the United States. She became famous for reviving San Ildefonso polychrome wares and had a very long and productive career.

Early life

Her grandmother first introduced her to pottery making at the age of three. Maria Martinez’s sister gave her the name “Blue Corn” during the naming ceremony, which is the Native American tradition of naming a child.

Blue Corn attended school at the pueblo in her early years. She then went to Santa Fe Indian School, which was 24 miles (39 km) from home. While attending school in Santa Fe, her mother and father died, and she was sent to live with relatives in southern California. Here she worked as a maid for a short time in Beverly Hills.

At the age of 20, she married Santiago “Sandy” Calabaza, a silversmith from Santo Domingo Pueblo. Together they settled at San Ildefonso, where she bore and raised 10 children. During World War II, Blue Corn worked as a housecleaner in Los Alamos for the physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer.