A freshly-picked ear of sweet corn, steaming hot and dripping with butter, is as much a symbol of American cuisine as it is the ultimate summer food.

When it comes to varieties, yellow corn tends to have larger, kernels that offer a deeper corn flavor, while white kernels are smaller and sweeter. The hybrid butter-and-sugar corn (also called peaches and cream) produces ears speckled with yellow and white kernels. Although corn on the cob is available year round, the peak season is May through September.

When purchasing fresh corn, look for ears with bright green, snugly fitting husks, and plump, milky kernels that stretch to the ear’s tip.

For the best flavor, fresh corn should be cooked the day it’s purchased, but it can be refrigerated up to a day. Store dry corn products well-wrapped in a cool, dry place, where they will last about a year.

Dried field corn (maize): A starchy corn used to make the dough for corn tortillas or tamales. It’s generally sold for posole, a thick Mexican stew traditionally made with pork. When purchasing, look for well-shaped kernels that haven’t been sprayed with toxins. Dried blue corn is another variety of starchy field corn.

Cornmeal: Dried white, yellow, or blue kernels that have been ground in fine, medium, or coarse textures. There are two methods of grinding: old-fashioned water-ground (or stone-ground), which retains some of the corn’s hull and germ; and the newer style, which is ground between huge steel rollers that remove most of the the husk and germ. Polenta is cornmeal mush.

Corn flour: This finely ground corn meal is milled from the whole kernel, unlike cornstarch which is obtained from the endosperm. Masa harina, used to make corn tortillas, is fresh corn masa  that has been force-dried and then powdered. It is not the same as fine-ground cornmeal.

Hominy: Dried corn kernels from which the hull and germ have been removed. This process is done mechanically or chemically by soaking corn in slaked lime or lye. Hominy is sold canned, ready-to-eat, or dried, and is served as a side dish or in casseroles. Broken or coarsely ground hominy is called when fine-ground, it’s called grits.

Popcorn: The hardest type of corn. A hard starch forms the outer shell; the inside consists of a small amount of soft starch. When heated, the soft starch starts to expand and steam, pressure builds up, the unyielding hard starch suddenly explodes—and a fluffy ball of popcorn bursts onto the scene.

Cuitlacoche: Also called corn smut, maize mushroom, and huitlacoche, this gourmet rage is actually a bulbous fungus that attacks ears of corn and makes the kernels swell to 10 times their normal size. The color turns a medium-gray verging on black. Enthusiasts profess it has a smoky-sweet flavor like corn and mushrooms and use it in sautés, soups, casseroles.

The ever increasing popularity of Mexican and Nuevo Latino cuisines have made these two corn products particularly hot.

Masa: Fresh masa (made from treated, soaked, and ground field corn and water), can be purchased 2 ways: smooth (for tortillas), and coarse (for tamales). It will spoil in 3 days and lose the plasticity needed to make tortillas even quicker. Masa preparada para tamales is masa mixed with lard and flavorings.

Corn husks: These dried husks, which impart a sweet, earthy flavor to foods, are typically used to wrap tamales. Choose the longest ones and make sure they’re not bug-eaten or ripped. Corn husks must be softened before use. To do so, soak husks in very hot water for about 30 min., then drain, pat dry, and use.