Food corn buyers want hard endosperm corn and often pay a premium for it. Why is it important?
The primary characteristic desired by essentially all food-grade corn users is a large fraction of hard endosperm. Hardness is important for several reasons. It has been found that kernels with high levels of hard (also referred to as vitreous, horneous, or horny) endosperm are more resistant to breakage during handling. This has two positive consequences for a food corn processor. First, when the corn is cleaned over screens as it enters the processing facility or elevator, a smaller amount of the corn (for which a premium has most likely been paid) will pass through the screens to become low-value animal feed. More importantly is the effect of breakage on the process. For a dry miller, profits depend highly on the amount of large flaking grits that are produced. Flaking grits are the highest value endosperm product, followed by smaller grits, meals, and then flour. If the kernels are soft or broken significantly, there is less opportunity to produce the large grits. It is always poss
