Farm Fresh Sweet Corn
A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine. - Anne Bronte
On or off the cob, corn creates home mealtime memories. When you see one of those little plastic corn shaped holders do you think of the fun and messy meals you and your sister shared at a picnic table? Maybe your mom, much to your delight, cut fresh corn off the cob and fried the yellow kernels with onions in a bit of bacon grease. I remember the joy of heading out to the family farm, picking baskets full of sweet corn, shucking endless numbers of ears, and watching as my Grandma would plunge them into boiling water. All the grand-kids, giddy with anticipation, could hardly wait to roll the steaming ears around in butter. Just the other day I watched on Facebook as my cousin’s farming family shucked, blanched, and de-kerneled for freezing bucket after bucket of freshly picked sweet corn. The shared labor of love was made easier with an ingenious homemade corn holder put together with a 2x4 and a nail.
In a fantastically ideal world, we’d all grow our own corn - or have family members that farm. Unfortunately not everybody has the time or space for a mini-farm. Farmers Markets and road side stands are wonderful places to find great corn. Talk to the farmer and let them show you how to select the best of all the golden ears in the basket. Do avoid GMO corn as the modifications in corn include messing about with the genetics to resist herbicides allowing them to be liberally coated with chemicals. If the grower says the crops are Certified Organic, they are supposed to be non-GMO. If it's not organic, you are likely eating GMO. Ask before eating and buy local if you can.
The nutrition facts on corn may surprise some of you. It’s low in saturated fat unless you drizzle it with butter. Corn is high in fiber as well as magnesium, phosphorus, thiamin, and vitamin C. If you already have a favorite corn recipe that calls for canned or frozen corn, go ahead and substitute fresh corn ounce per ounce or cup per cup. Take a trip to the farmer’s stand and then make your own bags of frozen kernels and creamed corn with the good stuff instead of buying what's on sale at the store.
How to prepare ears of corn for freezing:
Brandy’s directions for Freezing Fresh Sweet Corn kernels put you right in the middle of a farming family experience.
After making About.com’s Homemade Creamed Corn, divide it into freezer bags that weigh in at 15-16 ounces so you can just substitute a bag for any recipe that calls for canned creamed corn.
Sheila has a very simple way to freeze whole ears of corn, so the ridiculously short season of sweet corn can live on in your freezer.
How to cook that corn:
Don’t freeze all the corn until you have eaten your fill of Brandy’s Simply Grilled Sweet Corn.
Simple enough to make for one, but easy enough to make for the whole family, give Microwaved Corn on the Cob a try!
My Grilled Corn takes a little longer than Brandy's as I like to soak the cob, husks and all in salty water before grilling. The result is perfect grilled sweet corn that requires no butter.
To make Corn Chowder with fresh corn, just sub in the measurements one to one.
Leggett Corn is not a low cal or light anything. It is however, delicious. Just eat the measured proportion that fits your caloric day or enjoy as a treat. The recipe works with either canned or fresh corn.
BlueJeanSue’s Corn with Bacon and Caramelized Onion is a recipe that Michael will remind him of his Mom!
Vegetarian Times Corn Quinoa Salad will be a hit with all the quinoa fans!
Or try this simply delicious fresh corn recipe from Vegetarian Times Corn and Red Pepper Caesar Salad.
Your thoughts...
Share your corn cooking memories. Do you still use the little corn cob holders for corn? Do you always scrape the kernels off the cob when you eat? If you grow your own corn, what is your favorite variety? Do you buy corn from the grocery or just farmers’ markets? Do you eat it simply steamed or do you prefer it in a more exotic recipe? Share your favorite recipes and methods for storing corn for winter with everyone here! If you would like to have your recipe considered for CC Palate, send it to me via pm.
Comments
like most Mainers I know, we have two pots of water going over the fire, one for the just harvested ears of corn, the other is for steaming lobster and clams! The price for Maine lobster off the boat is actually cheaper than hot dogs or hamburger right now.
Rule 1 for corn-on-the-cob: the fresher the better. When I was a kid my folks had 7/8 of an acre and we had a large garden. Mom would put the water on the stove to heat and then we'd go pick the corn, shuck it, rinse it and plop it into the pot. Sadly I don't have enough space in my yard to grow corn (though I have a small garden where I grow other things) so my solution now is to find a farm stand. I live in Indiana so finding someone nearby growing sweet corn is not hard to do! We've gotten ears from a farm stand several times this season and it is the best sweet corn I've had in years!
I love sweet corn and like most farmers, we always had a couple of rows set aside for sweet corn. But as I kid I hated shucking it. We had a big family (7 of us) so it seemed like my sister and I would be shucking for hours! But I loved to watch my Dad cut it in such neat little rows right off of the cob. He is the only person I ever saw eat his corn this way. Now I usualy buy it from the farmers market or try to get some from home if I can. I have gotten it from Jewel before and it's hit or miss. I boil it in water with a little milk and a sugar in it. Can't get enough this time of year!
I'm stuck with the supermarket .. how do you choose the best ears from among their selection when there is no farmer to ask? I see all these old ladies listening to them and pulling them open .. is there a trick to find the sweet ones? What should I be looking for?
I live in MS where road side farm stands are abundant. We get fresh corn on the cob still in the shucks at our grocery stores as well. My favorite new fresh corn recipe is as follows.
6 ears of corn cut from the cob
1lb asparagus (trim the woody ends then cut into 1-2in pieces
4 Tbs. butter or margerine
Just melt the butter and add the veggies. Saute for 3-4 min then cover for another 3-4 so the aspargus can steam. Add salt and pepper to taste and you have a great fresh tasting side dish.
Hope ya'll like it! --Melissa
Original Post by: spon590011795like most Mainers I know, we have two pots of water going over the fire, one for the just harvested ears of corn, the other is for steaming lobster and clams! The price for Maine lobster off the boat is actually cheaper than hot dogs or hamburger right now.
And, boy, do I feel bad for the lobstermen (and -women). It's been a hard summer for them.
Original Post by: mkw31205I live in MS where road side farm stands are abundant. We get fresh corn on the cob still in the shucks at our grocery stores as well. My favorite new fresh corn recipe is as follows.
6 ears of corn cut from the cob
1lb asparagus (trim the woody ends then cut into 1-2in pieces
4 Tbs. butter or margerine
Just melt the butter and add the veggies. Saute for 3-4 min then cover for another 3-4 so the aspargus can steam. Add salt and pepper to taste and you have a great fresh tasting side dish.
Hope ya'll like it! --Melissa
Is asparagus in season in your neck of the woods? I would never think of pairing corn and asparagus precisely because they're never available (at their best) at the same time.
I love fresh sweet corn. I have been buying it rom local farmers markets and freezing it over the past few weeks. It is so delicious and so low in calories for how filling it is.
I wouldn't be too concerned about the bugs ratzky, they are mixed into most of the processed foods you eat. Many foods that are processed have quite a few bus and rodent parts mixed in somewhere along the production process. Especially, foods like applesauce or peanut butter.
At least with farm fresh produce, you can pick off the critters you do see. Also, if you do see insects or worms crawling on your fresh corn it probably means fewer or no pesticides were used on it compared to the corn with none on it.
Hey, it was xXSinXx who expressed concern over corn ear worms, not me. I've always thought of them as extra protein.
We have asparagus in the grocery store this time of year and it is tender and flavorful. I never thought of pairing the two either but it totally works. Very tasty.
I've had excellent corn from the grocery stores in my area (NW Indiana), and my bff brought me some from Iowa. I always pick the small ears when buying at the store. Leftover corn off the cobb is so tasty in a salad or added to salsa.
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Oh man do I miss this!!! I cam from a dairy farm, and every year a section of one of the corn fields was dedicated to sweet corn, white, bi-color and yellow. We had different varieties so that we had fresh corn for weeks. it always amazed me how the skunks and raccoons would find our treasure of precious sweet corn as well! As soon as it was ripe those raccoons would go right down the whole row and rip every cob off and take exactly ONE bit out of every ripe cob. Then the skunks would come and do more damage.... usually taking advantage of the raccoons handiwork. We catch a few of them with conibear traps baited with stinky jack mackerel... or sometimes the bait was strawberry jam and marshmallows. I would go with dad as a little girl and help him, carrying the open can of fish to the field with him. Often by the time we got to the traps I had eaten half the fish!!
Now I live in Europe and there are a lot of wonderul breads and cheeses and other fantastic foods here, but the corn is just plain bad. While I acknowledge some thing here are better sweet corn is definately NOT!!And this is not from variety or hybrid, t is from culture. The sweet corn you find here is much too old and starchy. The kernels are not pearly and tender, but dented, dull and hard. I sure do miss roasted grilled corn, or fresh tender boiled cobs... it was one of the treasures of summer.
I have to say as a person working in coorporate I am paid better and have more vacation time. But as a farmer's daughter I ate better than any princess with the farm fresh milk (naturally unhomogenized milk.... homogenized milk is gross), and butter and cream, and the fresh vegetables and fruit from our trees and the meat which we raised, butchered, wrapped and froze ourselves and fresh fish from the irrigation pond......