Gaspé is the earliest maturing flint corn. It was cultivated by the indigenous tribe, Mi’kmaq of the Canadian Maritimes and along North Atlantic shores. In 1534, the French explorer Jacques Cartier, who named Quebec’s north easternmost peninsula Gaspé, and encountered this unique variety of corn, which is named after it.
Gaspé flint corn is an ancient, eight-rowed yellow and white maize cultivar. It is characterized by its small size, reaching only two feet in height, and the ears barely are able to be four inches in length. This flint corn is considered the fastest-growing historic corn, as it matures in just forty-five to sixty days.
Today, this corn is extremely rare and there are only few farmers who until now cultivate this variety in Manitoba province.
The dried kernels can be soaked and then used in stews. The Gaspé flint corn can also be added to soups, for example to a traditional Native American soup called Three Sisters. Its name refers to the three pillars of Native American agriculture: beans, squash, and corn. These three plants were planted close together and like close sisters, aided one another in their growing processes.
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Students of the Gastronomic Sciences at Pollenzo are collaborating with Slow Food to fill the Ark.
