Zea mays.

One bag, two completely different uses, and that's what makes this corn interesting. On one side, homemade popcorn: the dry kernel, heated, holds its small internal water reserve until the pressure bursts the hull and turns the starch inside out. On the other, a microgreen most people have never tasted and one of the most surprising you can grow at home.

The trick is darkness. Grown in light, corn shoots turn green, go fibrous and frankly grassy. Grown in complete darkness from start to finish, they stay a luminous pale yellow, almost translucent, tender and sweet to a degree that surprises everyone: a taste of concentrated sweet corn, with a note of milk and soft maple fudge. Chefs sometimes call them candy corn shoots, and they fetch a high price when you can find them. A simple bin turned upside down over the tray does the job.

Uses as a microgreen: as a garnish on a scallop tartare or a ceviche, where the sweetness balances the acidity; on a cream of corn soup, for the mother-child visual effect; on a risotto; in a crab salad; or simply nibbled as-is by kids, who adore them. As popcorn: in a heavy-bottomed pot with a little oil, lid ajar, until the pops space out.

A tip for the popcorn: if the kernels pop poorly, it's almost always that they've dried out too much. Putting them back for a few days in an airtight jar with a spoonful of water, shaking once a day, restores the internal moisture content and the problem disappears.

• Comes in a resealable, recyclable bag.
• Soak: about 6 to 9 hours.
• Microgreen harvest: about 9 to 12 days after sowing, grown in the dark from start to finish.
• Yield: 3 tablespoons give about 1 cup of shoots.
• Also usable as-is as popping corn.
• Best use: sweet chef's garnishes (scallops, ceviche, risotto), homemade popcorn.