Difference Between Sweet & Field Corn

Sweet Corn

• Sweet corn is mainly used for eating fresh off the cob, or canned or frozen corn. It gets its name because it is higher in natural sugars than other corns.

Field Corn

• Field corn, also called dent corn, serves mainly as feed for livestock. It is also used to make ethanol, and for other industrial uses.

Sweet Corn Appearance

• Sweet corn plants are 5 to 8 feet tall. The kernels are round and plump when they are harvested, and are usually more yellow in color than the kernels of field corn.

Field Corn Appearance

• At 7 to 10 feet tall, field corn plants are taller than those of sweet corn. As field corn matures, the tops of the kernels develop a dent, giving this corn its other name, dent corn. When field corn has dried down, it has an orange tint, says the Illinois Corn website.

Harvesting

• Because sweet corn is bred for its sweetness and tenderness, it is harvested when it is immature, and the kernels are full of sugar. Field corn is bred for its starch content since it is meant for animal feed; therefore it is harvested when the kernels are hard and largely dry, according to Extension.org.