I love sweet corn. Once when I was maybe 4 or 5 I ate EIGHT ears of corn at my grandmas at one sitting. My grandpa saw this and said to me “That boy eats a lot of corn”. Grandma said “He’s hungry”. My response “My likes corn”. To this day I still like corn!
I’m sure that corn was grown on their farm. When I was a teen one of my chores was carrying a bushel basket while my grandpa picked the corn and put it in the basket and then carrying that back to the tractor. Not as much fun as eating the corn.
My favorite way to eat sweet corn is on the cob with plenty of butter and salt.
If spreading the butter with a knife you ideally want the butter soft.
If you have a corn dish like the vintage Pfaltzgraff one in the picture you can put slices of cold butter in the dish and hot corn on the top. It will melt it. Then you just rotate the corn once or twice, remove, salt well and eat.
Types of sweet corn
There are three types of sweet corn commonly available in the US and there are different varieties of each. Would love to see what Mexico has in the way of varieties.
Yellow sweet corn – This is my FAVORITE. All the kernels are yellow and I prefer it when it’s matured some and the kernels are bigger. It’s a little tougher this way but I think the flavor is better and you are cooking it anyway so it’s not overly tough.- Bi-color sweet corn – The kernels are a mix of white and yellow. I prefer it more mature. It’s good and what I usually get if I can’t find yellow sweet corn.
- White sweet corn – The kernels are all white. I prefer it more mature though usually when I find white sweet corn the ears are always younger.
How to pick the best sweet corn
Here’s some tips on picking out the best sweet corn for you.
- Look for sweet corn that isn’t dried out. If it’s getting old the husk will start getting dry and browning. You can check the kernels too, if getting really old they will be dimpled. You don’t usually see corn this old for sale.
- A younger ear of corn is going to be more tender and the kernels will be smaller. A more mature ear is tougher with bigger kernels and I prefer a more mature ear of corn when eating if right off the cob. Younger ears will be smaller and more mature ears will be larger. If you prefer something in between look for medium sized ears of corn. If you aren’t sure you can pull back some of the husk to see.
- Unless you are eating it in a day or so don’t husk right away.
How to store sweet corn
Refrigerating it will keep it sweeter longer. Keeping the husk on while in the fridge will help to keep it from drying out and it will keep longer.
