Where Is The Corn in The Corned Beef

Have you tried looking for a piece of corn after opening a can of corned beef, and when you found none you wondered why did the beef was called "corned" in the first place? Originally "corn" meant grain, as in a small particle of something, and referred to the corns of salt. Corned beef is beef (usually cuts of meat are used that feature long muscle grain such as the brisket) that is first pickled in brine and then cooked by simmering. Corning is a form of curing and has nothing to do with corn, and the name comes from Anglo-Saxon times before refrigeration process when the meat was dry-cured where pellets of salt, some the size of kernels of corn, were rubbed into the beef to keep it from spoiling and to preserve it.

Corned beef is associated with Saint Patrick's Day when Irish Americans eat a traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage. The cabbage has long been a traditional food item for the Irish while corned beef served as a substitute for Irish bacon starting in the late 1800s. They found that corned beef has very similar taste to bacon but was much cheaper. Today we have come to know corned beef in our breakfast table together with eggs and pancakes.