Plant Otto File corn after all danger of frost has passed

You can’t grow corn without pollen, and fittingly the word pollen comes from Latin for “mill dust or fine flour.” The Latin pollen also gives us the word polenta, or “peeled barley.”

In America we eat cornmeal as cornbread or grits; in Italy it is polenta. Both are made from ground corn, but there is a world of differences between grits and polenta. Grits, especially in the American South, are traditionally made from dent corn (Zea mays indentata).

In Italy, most polenta is made from a different kind of corn, one with such a hard shell that it is called flint corn. Flint corns (Zea mays indurata), hold their texture longer than dent corns, and have an altogether different flavor.

But it is how the corn is ground or milled that really makes the difference. American cornmeal is simply ground in high-speed mills with large chunks of uncracked corn and various-sized particles.

Italians use a method called reduction milling, with the corn slowly ground into large pieces, then run through the mill again to make the pieces smaller. They repeat this process until the cornmeal reaches a remarkably fine and uniform size that cooks evenly. Reduction milling produces less heat, so the cornmeal keeps more of the flint corn’s texture, sweetness and creamy flavor.

The corn of choice for true rich, golden Italian polenta is called Otto File, which translates into “Eight Row” in English. This New England variety made its way to Italy in the 19th century, where farmers adopted it as their own. Over the decades of growing in Italy, Otto File has become a distinct variety.

Otto File flint corn grows six to seven feet tall. Each plant usually only bears a single ear of corn with eight rows of kernels on very thin, eight- to 12-inch-long cobs.

Otto File corn has very high levels of beneficial carotenoid, giving each kernel a deep golden yellow.

Plant Otto File corn after all danger of frost has passed and the ground has warmed up. Corn uses a lot of fertilizer, so choose a spot with rich soil with a pH between 6.0 and 6.8.

Plant the seeds one inch deep, four inches apart. They should germinate in five to 10 days. When the plants are a few inches high, thin to eight inches between corn plants. Because corn is wind-pollinated, plant at least four or five rows in a block rather than one or two single rows. This will ensure that all the ears are pollinated. Seeds are available from the Seed Library (www.seedlibrary.org).

Like all heirloom corns, Otto File flint corn seeds are open-pollinated, not hybrid, so you can save your own seeds for next year.

To avoid cross-pollination, be sure your corn is at least 500 feet from the nearest corn. You can also collect the pollen and hand pollinate the ears you want to save for seed. Let the ears dry on the plant before shelling them for seeds. Corn seeds can remain viable for five to 10 years.

Plant Otto File flint corn, and soon you will have golden ears to dry and grind into flour for polenta. Or cornbread. Or in true American fashion, cook both.