[Terrapreta] Three Sisters

[Jeff Davis]

<http://www.uwlax.edu/MVAC/Research/ThreeSisters.htm>

Snip:
"Merlin Red Cloud Jr. provided a recipe for processing corn that
involved several interesting treatments of corn.  Of most significance
was the addition of wood ash when boiling shelled corn, creating hominy.
Research into the chemical processes involves here indicates that the
addition of wood ash or lime serves to change the nutritional
composition of the corn to make niacin in the corn more readily
available to the body.  This enhancement of the corn will prevent
development of pellagra, a serious disease caused by a shortfall of
niacin in the diet.  Although pellagra is typically found in populations
that depend on corn for subsistence, such as the southern U.S.
populations in the 1920's and 1930's, no Native American populations,
either modern or archaeological, show signs of the disease.  This
traditional treatment of corn may provide the explanation.  Although
anthropologists knew that Mexicans prepare their corn in this way, we
did not fully appreciate its use in traditional Wisconsin gardening
practices before this research."
end of snippet


Jeff