An etymological revelation

Ashley picked up "The Omnivore's Dilemma" from the library, and I'm finding it pretty interesting.  The first part of the book is about corn, and there was something in it that I've wondered about for years.  The word "corn" used to refer to any kind of small grain, so instead of saying "an ear of corn," people might have said "maize corns" or something like that.  The interesting thing is that this is why we say "pepper corns" and "corned beef" (corned beef is salted, and those grains of salt used to be called corns).  Ever since the first time I had corned beef (actually not more than a year or two ago), I've wondered why it was called that.