The grain also called maize that commonly appears as a Thanksgiving side dish is corn.
Corn is a staple of Thanksgiving cooking in the United States and Canada, appearing as steamed kernels, corn on the cob, creamed corn, cornbread, or part of dishes such as succotash. “Maize” is another name for the same cereal crop, especially in scientific, international, and historical contexts.
Corn is native to the Americas and was domesticated from a wild grass known as teosinte in what is now Mexico. Indigenous peoples cultivated and prepared it in many forms long before European colonization. Because corn was an important food crop in North America, it is often associated with harvest meals and Thanksgiving traditions.
The alternatives are different grains: millet, rye, and barley do not mean maize. Corn is also botanically a grass and technically a grain, even though sweet corn is usually treated as a vegetable at the dinner table. Not every Thanksgiving menu includes it, but it is a recognized traditional side and an ingredient in regional dishes such as Southern cornbread dressing.