Suitability of maize hybrids for the enrichment of marinated baby corn with anthocyanins extracted from black soybean

Maize (Zea mays L.) is the third most grown cereal crop in the world, after wheat and rice. Immature dehusked maize ears harvested before fertilization, within 2-4 days after white silk emergence are classified as baby corn. The objective of this study was to investigate the suitability of baby corn cobs obtained from different maize hybrids for their enrichment with anthocyanins extracted from the black soybean seed coats. Three different maize hybrids, namely, a popcorn hybrid ZP 6119k, a sweet hybrid ZP 553su, a semi-flint with a short vegetation period (105 days) ZP 161, as well as black soybean genotype “Black Tokyo”, were used in this study. Plant material was grown in the experimental field of the Maize Research Institute at the location of Zemun Polje, Serbia in 2021. Maize was harvested after the emergence of silk from the ears (silking stage), while soybean plants were harvested in the stage of full maturity (R8). The baby maize cobs differed in length (9.5-20.0 cm) and girth (12-21 mm), the number of kernel rows (12-20), color, and length of the silk outside the husk (3-7 cm). Soybean seeds were manually dehulled and seed coat was ground in a laboratory mill prior to the extraction of anthocyanins. After dehusking and measuring, the baby corn cobs were washed and blanched for two minutes in boiling water, and then cooled. Subsequently, the baby corn cobs were immersed in a marinating brine enriched with anthocyanins extracted from the seed coat of black soybean, pasteurized, and kept in closed glass jars in a cool dry place for 30 days. After chemical and sensory analyzes, the product obtained from popcorn hybrid ZP 6119k was chosen as the most suitable for the preparation of the marinated baby corn product enriched with anthocyanins from black soybea