In Season: Corn
Everyone's favorite and simplest way to eat corn is corn on the cob—here are a few of our favorite tricks for bringing out its best.
Corn on the Cob Tips
- Add three tablespoons of sugar and a teaspoon of skim milk to your boiling water. The milk enhances the color of the corn and the extra sugar helps the corn better retain its own sugars.
- Don't salt your water; it'll toughen your kernels.
- Cooking times may vary, but 3-5 minutes is a good place to start. To test for doneness, remove an ear from your pot and pierce a kernel with a fork or toothpick. If the kernel bursts easily, it's done.
Want to dress up your corn a bit? Any of these recipes are a great starting point.
Corn Recipes
Mexican Corn on the Cob [Homesick Texan]
Spicy Corn Salad [SE]
Arugula Corn Salad with Bacon [Simply Recipes]
Sweet Corn Ice Cream [The Kitchn]
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5 Comments:
Corn still on the stalk contains a lot of sugar. However, when the ear is picked, the sugars start polymerizing and turn to starch. The more starch, the longer the cooking time.
If you get corn that was just picked that day, it still contains a high amount of sugar and you only need to boil it for 1-2 minutes inorder to heat it up so butter can melt. If it was picked 1 or more days ago, you'll need to cook it longer.
I take a shortcut and peel back to leaves, remove the corn silk (hair), put the leaves back, and then microwave the ear for 60 seconds. Works like a charm every time.
ilovebutter at 4:14PM on 08/03/08
I agree...NO added sugar...ICK!
pthom at 7:22PM on 08/03/08
Ugh, no sugar. And don't boil. Either grill or broil in the oven.
ESNY1077 at 10:15AM on 08/04/08
If you have to add sugar to make your sweet corn sweet you need to find new sweet corn. My FIL would be APPALLED.
Shuck it, toss it in some boiling water, slather it with butter and have at it.
AuntJone at 2:42PM on 08/04/08
I've been using the straight to microwave method for the past few years and it's amazingly simple. Trim the stalk end and pointed end off, stick the entire ear in the microwave without bothering to remove the silk and nuke for 2 to 3 minutes PER EAR.
Get two dishtowels or a dishtowel and pair of thick cotton gloves and peel the cooked ears over a trash receptacle or bag. The silk pull off with the husk almost entirely on the first pass. An additional brush up and down the length of the ear with the towel or glove removes the few stray pieces of silk that remain.
The only catch with this method is a limit to the number of ears you can cook at one time based on the size of your microwave.
phaelon56 at 12:43PM on 08/05/08