Cutting some Corn

My friend Quincho planted his first 50mx50m plot of corn ("milpa" is when it is still on the stalk.) He was really proud of it and said that any day now the corn would be ready to cut "elotes" (corn on the cob). It would be a few more weeks before it would be ready for the big harvest that they could dry out and save to make tortilla dough. I told him that when it was ready, to let me know and I would go cut elotes with him and then my wife could make it for us for lunch.

I got the call and we went in the pickup. It was only about a 30 minute drive on a 4x4 only road. Quincho, Mateo (14 yrs old.) and a big Gringo armed with machetes and a sack. The showed me how to tell which plants were ready and where to slice the plant. Also, how to cut the corn down with the machete. I see now why there are so many thumb injuries (we hear every week about somebody else who almost cut their thumb off). The white and even yellow corn here is not the same as the States. It is tougher, and not very sweet, but it tastes good with salt and neither Quincho nor Mateo had ever had corn on the cob with butter on it. Apparently they liked it. I ate 2. Quincho ate 6 (after a hamburger).

One thing I didn't expect to see: In Guatemala you have to protect your corn from parrots instead of crows. Instead of making a scarecrow (or even a scareparrot) the man next to Quincho killed a pisote (coati mundi) and hung it on a stick. That attracted vultures, whose presence keeps parrots away. I don't know anything about the health effects of rotting carcass on corn, but we'll see if that guy dies.