How many teaspoons of sugar in sweet corn?

Sweet corn is the kernels of maize varieties bred to be eaten fresh, picked while the grain is immature and before its sugars have turned to starch. Botanically it is a cereal grain, but it is cooked and eaten as a vegetable, and Dr Unwin’s charts list it with vegetables.

Two charts and Table 1 of the 2016 paper describe the same 80g portion, about half a cup of kernels. The common foods and fruits vs vegetables charts print a glycaemic index of 60 and the teaspoon figure shown here. Table 1 supplies the rest: 18g of available carbohydrate and a glycaemic load of 11. Worked through, 18g at GI 60 is a load of 10.8.

Figure 1 of the same paper, its version of the common foods chart, gives sweet corn 7.3 teaspoons. That does not match Table 1 in the same paper or either published chart, and it cannot be reproduced from the paper’s own inputs. The value used here is 4.0, which the other three sources agree on. The discrepancy is listed on the sources page.

The figure is for plain boiled kernels. Corn on the cob is weighed with its core, and creamed corn and tinned corn packed with sugar are different preparations.

Popcorn, cornmeal and cornflakes are made from different maize varieties, dried and processed. Cornflakes have their own page.