Corn On The Cob

Pull down the husks and baste it with melted butter and lime and red pepper and fresh cilantro and grill it and it's wonderful! It's hard to beat fresh corn on the cob.

Andrea

That's great, but the corn has to be decent.

Living out west, I always find myself longing for east coast (New England or New York, in particular) corn.

Wish it was corn on the cob season..... ((((((((((sigh))))))))))))

My partner, who is from New Hampshire, also says eastern corn is better. This always makes me laugh. I'm from Illinois, and I visit Iowa every summer and have corn. The corn here in California is just as good, it's just different. There's a lot more white corn here, but it can be just as tasty. I can't get a Steak 'n Shake cheeseburger here, but the corn from everywhere is delicious if it's fresh and cooked properly.

Shouldn't there be fresh corn fron Florida soon?

quote:

Originally posted by michaelgemmell

My partner, who is from New Hampshire, also says eastern corn is better. This always makes me laugh. I'm from Illinois, and I visit Iowa every summer and have corn. The corn here in California is just as good, it's just different. There's a lot more white corn here, but it can be just as tasty. I can't get a Steak 'n Shake cheeseburger here, but the corn from everywhere is delicious if it's fresh and cooked properly.

Shouldn't there be fresh corn fron Florida soon?

We have some corn now but will be much better in the next couple of weeks. I'm ready to put up a bushel each of creamed and on the cob!

Corn's a' comin' down here in Florida,but frankly,I lived in 'Joisey' for years and the corn was better(perhaps nostalgia is fueling this),plenty of roadside stands,white,yellow and mixed,it was all good. I have had corn from Iowa and Nebraska,both were great.....I wonder where they grow 'bad' corn,I don't think I've ever had it,I love the stuff.

When I was growing 40 acres of sweet corn, it was only a few hours old when we sold it. The quality of corn dropped fast, in those days and the shipped in product could not compare. Today the shipped in product from Florida is almost as good as the local stuff. The secret is modern sweet corn breeding. The new supersweet or sugary enhanced hybrids keep under refrigeration for up to a week. We used to compete to grow the earliest corn, using clear plastic mulch, special fertilizer, and expensive chemicals. We all got top dollar for the first week or so of the season, because we had to. I was selling corn for $4 a dozen that cost $3.50 to grow. I could grow and sell corn a few weeks later for a buck a dozen. Today when a consumer can buy a darn good shipped in sweet corn from mid April on for 2 or 3 dollars a dozen, there is no "rush" to buy the early local product.

There is not much better than sweetcorn for supper that was picked that morning. We have that luxury for a short time in the summer here in Iowa -- there will be a pickup truck or two at each gas station selling corn they've picked that morning. It's just not the same after it has been sitting around for a day or two.

NJ & Long Island sure produce awful good sweet corn. No doubt lots of other places do as well.

What's the general opinion re: the genetically modified "Super Sweet" hybrid? I definitely stays sweeter longer, but I find it too sugary and almost artifical tasting. Sort of like corn with Equal poured on. No comparison to really fresh "normal" varieties.

I agree there's not much better than the sweet corn. We have very good sweet corn here in KY in the summer. I remember as a child I used to pick an ear right off the stalk and eat it raw and it tasted like candy! There's also a sweet corn festival in Indiana that's a lot of fun. Re the tough, tasteless corn, eyuk! When I make cornbread, I always put sweet corn and jalopenos in it and it's a meal in itself!

Andrea

quote:

Originally posted by garykg6

Corn's a' comin' down here in Florida,but frankly,I lived in 'Joisey' for years and the corn was better(perhaps nostalgia is fueling this),plenty of roadside stands,white,yellow and mixed,it was all good. I have had corn from Iowa and Nebraska,both were great.....I wonder where they grow 'bad' corn,I don't think I've ever had it,I love the stuff.

Perhaps you have never had "field corn" ?

Having spent some of my erstwhile youth and early adulthood in Ohio, Michigan and Illinois, primarily in Ohio. I will have to say that corn from that region is far superior to any other corn. However that region is often referred to as the midwest, look at a map, I'd say that that portion of the country is part of the eastern portion of the United States.

That being said, when I lived in Ohio, my house was smack dab in the middle of 1800 acres of corn, (Amish country), and that is where the tastiest corn was to be had. We would either start the water boiling, or fire up the grill, go out in the field, pick and shuck as many ears as needed, rush them back to the cooking source and commence to cooking them. Maybe five minutes at most from picking to cooking source. That and a two pound beefsteak tomato made for the perfect meal.

As an aside living amongst that much corn also made for great hunting, deer, pheasant, squirrel, rabbit, etc. You pretty much had to decide what you wanted for dinner and wait for it to come out of the fields and then shoot, field dress it and throw it on the grill. Ah, heaven.

Nowdays I live in the high desert in Nevada and raise cattle. I raise field corn for the cattle that I consume, and for those local folks that I butcher for, as I cannot stand range feed beef. For criminy sakes the cattle eat sage brush and other range feed. No marbling what so ever on that diet. Nasty tasting. We also grow sweet corn for our own consumption. However I I don't think it is as good as what I ate when I was growing up. This has been an excellent water year and we anticipate 100% water
allocation from the irrigation system, so I won't have to pump any water from my wells.

We are going to Florida in several weeks, so I will bring some Florida corn and tomatoes home for a great feast.

I gardened a lot when I was younger. I remember coming home from work, picking corn and throwing it in the water within a few minutes. It seems as though there was never better corn than that, and all has paled since. . . that was back when I used to have meals on a regular basis that were 100% home grown, from chicken and potatoes to corn. Sometimes I ask myself, was everything really better back then?

quote:

Originally posted by rjb

NJ & Long Island sure produce awful good sweet corn. No doubt lots of other places do as well.

What's the general opinion re: the genetically modified "Super Sweet" hybrid? I definitely stays sweeter longer, but I find it too sugary and almost artifical tasting. Sort of like corn with Equal poured on. No comparison to really fresh "normal" varieties.

IMO, the supersweet is good and bad. We all seem to agree that nothing beats a regular old fashon sweet corn that goes straight from garden to pot. I do not grow supersweet in my own home garden, but I have in the past. On the other hand, supermarket corn is now almost always one of the supersweet or sh varieties. IMO, today's supermarket corn may not be quite as good as my home grown, but it is still very good. As I stated in the tomato thread, I am always amazed at the quality of the supermarket produce that we can buy today.

And I've never tasted corn anywhere near as good as Bantam corn from Bantam, Connecticut.

We grew a large garden on the SoCal High Desert. Our favorite sweet corn was Kandy Korn one of the 'SuperSweets'. It did quite well in the dry climate, but our water bill for the summer went thru the roof !
Here in the Hills along the Ohio we haven't had as much luck with the corn in the garden. We get hit with earworms and other corn eating bugs pretty hard. Illinois Xtra Sweet has given us about the best return so far. Silver Queen seems to be a local favorite at the stands here.

To me, corn off the cob has always been nothing more a side dish. The token vegetable at the dinner table. But leave it on the cob and it's elevated to the rank of co-entree or sometimes even higher, and for some reason most people's corn capacity drastically increases from a single serving or 2 to multiple ears. I'll take mine with butter and salt, please...

Brad

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

And I've never tasted corn anywhere near as good as Bantam corn from Bantam, Connecticut.

DITTO

Connecticut, Central Massachusetts ... their butter and sugar variety has ruined all other corn for me. I brought home some seeds and tried growing it out here in Seattle -- didn't work. Buying corn out here has always disappointed me. I like it only slightly cooked -- grilled ideally with butter salt, pepper and myabe some msg-free seasoning.

Next trip east, I see myself lugging home corn instead of pizza.

quote:

Originally posted by Brad_Olson

To me, corn off the cob has always been nothing more a side dish. The token vegetable at the dinner table.

Brad

I wonder why that is.

Have you ever shaved fresh corn into a side dish?

Yes, I have and it's very good. But it somehow still doesn't compare to eating it straight from the cob. Maybe it's because the cob is noticeable. Right there. Takes up space and demands attention. Kernels, on the other hand, can sit quietly in a dish or in a small mound off near the edge of the plate. Minding their own business, as it were.

Or maybe it's because I (and maybe a few others) might associate fresh corn on the cob with childhood and summer. Picking it from a flat rack or pickup bed and taking home a 13-ear dozen. Shucking the corn if it's going to the pot or putting it straight on the grill. Eating with my hands and getting butter, salt, and juice all over my face. Using the hose or the laundry sink to clean up afterward.

When I was a kid we used to freeze corn for the winter and occasionally we froze it on the cob and then heated and ate it the same way. Just didn't seem the same.

Corn season can't come too soon for me...

Brad

Ahh, the corn on the cob of my childhood... mom would boil the crap out of them, and on the table we had slices of white bread to butter and roll the cob around in, and then we sprinkled them with salt of course. My brothers or my dad would eat the slices of corn-cob-rolling white bread.

Now I prefer my corn on the cob roasted or grilled with garlic, and fresh lime juice. Yum.

We were always of the "start the water boiling, pick the corn, shuck it quick and boil it immediately" persuasion when I was growing up, and we usually grew enough in sucessive plantings to keep us supplied all summer, with plenty to cut and freeze too.
A cooking method that I learned from the first microwave cookbook I got was to shuck the ears, put them in a glass dish with butter, cover with waxed paper. Cook for a couple of minutes, roll the ears in the butter, cook a few more minutes, roll it again and keep this up til the corn is done. Cooked in the butter it is extra good.
The recipe was for a 600 watt microwave (a powerful one in 1979 when I bought it), and I need to convert it for my microwave, which is a 1200 watt.

I love fresh sweet corn. Last summer I tried grilling it after seeing some comments on that process here. Shucked the corn, held it under the faucet to get it nice and wet, then held it over a sheet of aluminum foil so the water would drip there while I spread some butter on it. A dash or two of hot sauce, some dried basil, salt, and pepper, and wrap up the foil, then onto the grill.

I like it, but the rest of the family prefers it just boiled. I'll take it either way.

Nothing much better than sweet corn that you've picked yourself, taken immediately to a pot of boiling water, cooked for 5 minutes and slathered with butter, salt and pepper and eaten!!!!

One thing we loved about living in Arizona was that the corn season lasted so long, well into the Fall. We would go out to farms around Chandler and pick to our hearts' content, then feast upon the fruits of our endeavors. Wonderful eating.

I'd like to try doing it different ways with different seasonings, but love it so much the old fashioned way that I've never taken the time to try something different. Maybe someday, but I doubt it.

Donna

I never preshuck the corn before grilling. Simply soak in cold water for a few minutes then right over the coals, turning constantly until the whole husk is blackened and the kernals nicely browned. My daughter prefers the ones placed over indirect heat and steamed in the husk. Both styles are of course givin a bath in melted butter..

This summer I plan to plant some Mirai (r) sweet corn. It was developed in the USA, but found fame in Japan. It is supposed to be the best corn in the world, but not suited for machine picking. USA farmers shunned it but the Japanese who pick by hand anyway, made it a big hit. It comes in yellow, white, and bicolor. You can buy seed from www.parkseed.com just put mirai in the search box and you will go right to the Mirai (r) page. Otherwise just click on vegetables and scroll down. You will not find this in roadfood places untill the cost of seed comes down. Last summer, NYC chiefs were paying around a dollar an ear wholesale. I'm not buying into the hype enough to go back into wholesale corn growing, but a few dozen for the family and friends could be fun!!
Todd in Massachusetts

Field corn is what we fed the cows.

I don't know why you need all the additives-
Great fresh corn doesn't even need butter or salt.

Always looked forward to August and September
when the tomatoesa were ripe, the corn at its best
and the bluefish clogging the harbors of Long Island.

Add a few new potatoes and a cold beer, What a feast !!!!

Field corn is what we fed the cows.

I don't know why you need all the additives-
Great fresh corn doesn't even need butter or salt.

Always looked forward to August and September
when the tomatoesa were ripe, the corn at its best
and the bluefish clogging the harbors of Long Island.

Add a few new potatoes and a cold beer, What a feast !!!!

quote:

Originally posted by the ancient mariner

... new potatoes and a cold beer, What a feast !!!!

We could start a whole new thread on new potatoes!! They are a true feast that about 90% of the population has never enjoyed. For the uninitiated, new potatoes are dug before the skin gets tough, and often while the spuds are still small. They are not the ordinary little potatoes usually sold in stores. Most often new potatoes come from the home garden or a nearby farmer because they don't keep well. Yum!

tmiles------Yum is right. I have made a feast on new potatoes alone. Another great
treat for my kids when they were young was following the farmers as they dug and bagged the spuds on Long Island. The field would be full of those they missed or cut in half. The kids would bag 'em and pull them home in a big old red wagon and we would chow down and then store those not damaged for the winter. Have to check the two oldest to see if they remember.

And, when I was very young "Murphys" were a great treat. Bon fires were common when we were ice skating and we would find a good tree branch and whittle the end into a point and plunge it through a potatoe and then cook it over the fire---or just throw the "mickey" right into the ashes and let it roast till done. Always caried a meat thermometer to check interior temperature don't you know.

Every fall we go out to the North fork of Long Island and go pumkin picking-them have roasted corn on the cob-its roasted in a big oven-them peel back the husk and dip in melted butter and sprinkle it with sea salt-I eat 4-5 in a day-soooooo goooood.

I have to say. The idea of grilling sweet corn with the HUSK down is not the right way.

Get FRESH sweet corn. Witht he husk on and tight. Spray or dunk it in water. Then place on the grill OR into a bed of coals if you are camping.

Once the husk starts to get dark.

Pull the corn out or off the grill. Peal it back. If you like butter add some, BUT you should not need any. All the moisture will be held in by the husk. Steaming the corn to perfection.

Also, Dip the corn on the cob WITH husk on. In some water. Place in the microwave for 50 seconds.

It will come out ready to eat.

I absolutely love grilled corn and I never add butter or salt. If I have gotten hold of some good fresh sweet corn, to me, it doesn't need anything else.

Earlier in this thread I mentioned Mirai sweet corn that I am trying for the first time this year. I have also ordered, from Burpee, a red colored sweet corn that I have heard about. I had some red seed last year too, but forgot to plant it.

The best is at summerfest and the Wisconsin state fair and adding a little of their special salt makes it even better

I used to live on a farm in Kansas when I was a kid and we grew our own white sweet corn that we used to eat raw; even though it was better roasted with salt, pepper, and butter. Sometimes you just can't wait. Smoked corn is also a favorite of mine. I have never seen it in any restaurant but I do make it at home. It makes really great corn chowder!

David O.

boyardee,

could you tell us how to make that smoked corn.

Why would you husk corn before grilling it? Let the husks catch the ashes. My corn grows where I stand, and that's the secret to good corn on the bone. Get it fresh. Corn chowder is for when you have some cans of cream style and you don't want to taste the yuck they add. It's also pretty good out of the microwave, unlike most foods.

That's my opinion and I'm stickin' to it.

My favorite methond for doing corn is pretty simple. I grill it. I peel back the husks and remove the silk. Then I close the husks back up and soak them for an hour. I light my charcoal and when it's developed the right ash I spread it out and add some soaked wood chips on top. I then grill the corn for about ten or 15 minutes, turning to get good grill marks all over. This stuff is wonderful, with a slightly smoky aroma and flavor

Try painting the corn lightly with a mixture of butter and sweet BBQ sauce and cook it the exact way Michael says...Russ

I plant corn every spring (about 50 plants), and every summer the squirrels destroy them all. DESTROY!!! the crop looks like a tornado hit it.

quote:

Originally posted by tmiles

Earlier in this thread I mentioned Mirai sweet corn that I am trying for the first time this year. I have also ordered, from Burpee, a red colored sweet corn that I have heard about. I had some red seed last year too, but forgot to plant it.

My home garden corn is planted. I'll start the season with a very early old fashoned yellow,"Early Sunglow", because the new supersweets don't germinate in cool soil. Today I planted "Ruby Queen" a red supersweet, and "Breedres Choice" a yellow supersweet to pollinate the red because the red produces little pollin. I also planted 2 rows of Mirai because I had a little extra space, but it is really a week or two early to plant the Mirai. I bought a few pounds of the Mirai seed for a small commercial plot and noticed that the seed is very light. Because it is light and very low in starch the soil temp should be 70 degrees before planting Mirai. A population of rabbits has built up in the yard. I fence the other veggies, but not corn or tomatoes. I hope that they leave the unfenced stuff alone. The rabbits always beat the fence in the end, so I plant extra.

Corn is coming in here in Florida now, I bought 10 ears and grilled them Sunday, so good. When at work I shuck down to the last few husks, wrap in a WET paper towel and microwave anywhere from 3-5 minutes. I'll eat 2-3 for lunch. Love it.

I live near a couple of farms that seel fresh white or bicolored corn at roadside stans for 3bux@dozen. Sweet as candy and tender enough to eat raw.
britt

Yep, definitely here in Florida now: got 4 ears & boiled them last night....sweet!

I bought two ears of the new corn yesterday and prepared it exactly as Michael Hoffman described, on the grill, along with a stuffed pork loin and some stuffed mushrooms.

And it was some good eating.

They have fresh corn here now in the Dallas area. But I will say that corn here and where I'm from, central new york, tastes different. Even when I lived in C.N.Y and could drive down the road and choose from the different farmers, corn taste differed. The soil made all the difference.

I make several trips up north to the Laurentian mountains in the summer months and always stop off at the roadside farmer's markets along the way where you can find barrels of freshly picked husks of sweet corn. Nothing beats it.

quote:

Originally posted by fabulousoyster

I plant corn every spring (about 50 plants), and every summer the squirrels destroy them all. DESTROY!!! the crop looks like a tornado hit it.

Sounds like I would be having squirrel to eat with my corn

Just had a good batch today-not from Wisconsin yet, but I think it was from Florida...Wonderfully sweet!

All of you Florida corn eaters...

If you don't mind me asking, what are you paying for sweet corn this year? I know with ethanol and simple inflation the price of corn has really gone up, but it didn't hit me just how MUCH it had gone up until I was at Publix the other day. Every year around this time, they would have a sale on locally grown corn and have all the husks in a big barrel-like box in the produce department. Seems like season before last, the sale price would be 10 ears for a buck. This year, the price has gone to eight ears for TWO BUCKS. That is a huge increase in a very short period of time....so, I ended up passing on the corn.

I agree, Mikez629. I use fresh butter and a dusting of RealSalt. I could eat three or four in a row and call it a meal.

TTM We bought FL Sweet Corn this past week at 4/$1 at our local veggie stand. They had both 'white' and 'bi-color' available. No claims were made about it being 'Silver Queen', or 'Butter and Sugar' or 'peaches and Cream' specifically, but it was very good for early-long transport corn.

We pan fry a large steak (for 2) in some bacon drippings, keep the pan hot after the steak cooks while the corn is done in boiling water. After removing the corn and drip-drying it, we will drop the ears in the still hot frying pan with whatever meat juice and bacon drippings may remain. Roll it around enough to coat the ears..or at least get them a trace of pan-drippings, then serve with the steak.

I may regret this...
THE BEST sweet corn I have ever tasted is grown in Thompson Ct.
The variety is "Montauk". I buy it at Woodstock orchards.

TRUE STORY:

I visitied the Illinois State Fair last summer and had a cob of corn. On the table was a spray bottle filled with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. What was that for? Illinois isn't Wisconsin, but they have cows that are capable of producing butter!

At our local Fall Festivals a number of fund-raising booths sell Sweet Corn, either grilled or boiled/steamed, In both formats the ear is usally dipped in melted BUTTER (not fake butter) before being handed, dripping with goodness, to the customer. I love to sit and devour those huge ears!

quote:

Originally posted by fabulousoyster
I plant corn every spring (about 50 plants), and every summer the squirrels destroy them all. DESTROY!!! the crop looks like a tornado hit it.

The solution to your problem is elementary. I've seen a chihuahua chase an infestation of geese from the apartment complex my then-girlfriend lived in. That's what kept the management from kicking her and her dog out. You may want to get something bigger than a chihuahua in case the deer start hitting your patch up for handouts.

Dogs are proof that there is a God who loves us.

TTM

Last year our local farmers stand was $3/dz, nobody has any good stuff yet

I am waiting though..

AL

You got strawberries??? I wonder how the crop is coming along with all the cool weather we had, should be about time for some fresh local

quote:

Originally posted by The Travelin Man

All of you Florida corn eaters...

If you don't mind me asking, what are you paying for sweet corn this year? I know with ethanol and simple inflation the price of corn has really gone up, but it didn't hit me just how MUCH it had gone up until I was at Publix the other day. Every year around this time, they would have a sale on locally grown corn and have all the husks in a big barrel-like box in the produce department. Seems like season before last, the sale price would be 10 ears for a buck. This year, the price has gone to eight ears for TWO BUCKS. That is a huge increase in a very short period of time....so, I ended up passing on the corn.

Both field corn and sweet corn are far more expensive to grow this year, but the sweet corn uses less fertilizer, and so costs a little less to grow. Sweet corn costs more to pick ,pack and ship. I grow only sweet corn. I used to grow 30 or 40 acres, but now less than an acre. I buy my field corn (sheep feed) from another farmer. He had a very good year last year, but after paying taxes, and living for a year, he had to borrow more than ever to plant this spring, due to higher input costs.

When I grew wholesale sweet corn, the price that I got had little to do with my production costs. Supply and demand set the price.Some times I made out and some times I didn't. Retail was also somewhat supply and demand, but most of the people who have farm stands in my area have moved to a "take it or leave it" attitude. Most of us set price based on production costs now. I plan to charge $1 per ear or $8 per dozen this season, with the customer allowed to husk on the spot, rejecting unwanted ears. I expect to sell out each of the few days that I have sweet corn. I will not make much on it.