the.com/corn husk
Nature's shrink wrap, now moonlighting as tamale wrapper and witch's doll.
means The tough, papery leaves that wrap around an ear of corn, protecting the kernels as they grow.
from Straightforward compound: 'corn' (from Old English 'corn,' originally meaning any small grain, later narrowing in American English to mean maize) plus 'husk' (from Middle English 'huske,' related to words for 'house' or 'covering' — a husk is etymologically a little shelter). Put them together and you get exactly what it says: the house that corn lives in.
- botanical name
- technically called a husk leaf or bract
- tamale use
- steams the masa without sticking or sogging
- doll tradition
- colonial americans folded them into toys, faceless on purpose
- papery trick
- dries stiff but rehydrates soft for wrapping