Corn stigmas and columns

Corn stigmas and columns have a filamentous structure (popularly called "hair") and are parts of a female corn flower located in the upper part of the plant, that is, on the panicle. The "hair" itself is located under the wrappers of the cobs. They are harvested by hand during the period of milk maturity of the grain – in August-September.

The collected stigmas (columns) are laid out in a layer of 2-3 cm on paper, cardboard or gauze and dried in the shade in the open air (preferably without access to sunlight) or placed in special dryers and kept there at a temperature of 40 degrees.

The finished dried stigmas are kept whole, finely chopped or ground into powder. Store them necessarily in a dark, dry, cool place. The optimal storage container is a canvas bag.

The shelf life of corn stigmas is up to three years. However, the stigmas have the strongest effect only during the first year of storage.