It's a texture thing. It's not bad to get a couple pieces of silk in you mouth, but no one wants to floss with them.

Most silk comes off very easily. It's really not a labor-intensive chore to do to prep corn.

I rinse under the faucet and use a vegetable brush.

We had grilled corn-on-the-cob last night (with grilled salmon & potatoes), and we were not fanatic about getting all the remnants of silk out. I also do not bother to rinse under the faucet or use a brush - tiny amounts that remain are not objectionable. Long strands are bothersome, but if they are extremely short, I do not notice them.

I hated shucking corn as a child because sometimes I would find a worm (actually a caterpillar), and that would scare/shock me. I did not mind shelling peas, but there were always a few women helping me, and so it was a cordial thing to do. We did not have corn on the cob that much when I was a child because the corn was grown mostly as animal food (pigs), and people would forget to pick it when it was okay for eating. I hated pretty much any time spent in a field, as I could not take the heat, and I wanted to stay out of the sun. On top of that, I have severe allergies and was allergic to almost everything outdoors in Texas. I had the same problem with allergies in Costa Rica, but not so much in California or Mexico.

That method works fantastic Cindy. Some people are reluctant to do it, because of the pesticides sprayed on corn, and finding a worm in it.

Another way is to husk them and then hold them over the flame of your gas stove burner, one at a time with tongs, of course, to remove the silk. The corn doesn't heat up but the silks burn to nothing. I don't have a gas stove so I use a propane kitchen torch. Check out how our famous dcarch husks them on youtube, it really works easily!

Jasdip, why would the pesticides scare people from doing it that way? If you find a worm, it means that the it likely was not GMO corn and then the pesticides are obviously not in it if the worm lived? I had not seen that method and may have to try it as the corn is coming into season now. It seems like I have a hard time getting a lot of the silk off.

I've been using the microwave method this summer. But the last few weeks, I've ended up with a lot of silk left on the cooked cobs. It'snot that hard to remove because it's cooked but still a bit annoying. I wonder if it's because we're nearing the end of corn season. Or maybe it's related to the really hot days we've had lately.

I've tried that method and it doesn't work well for me, but it works great for Elery. He says I'm too "parsimonious" about how much I cut off the end, LOL, not wanting to "waste" any. I do still get some silks left on when I use that (or pretty much any other) method, but they don't bother me. Each silk goes to a single kernel, the function of the silk is to catch pollen, as corn is wind pollinated, not pollinated by insects/etc. There are as many silks as there are kernels, and the silk is not harmful to eat, merely irritating in the texture aspect. I get most of 'em off, and don't worry about the rest.

Annie

I love the MW method for corn and don't have a problem with the silk left on the cob. It is like getting boiled corn in 4 minutes and I can always put it on the grill to char a bit if I want to.

I use the microwave method, too, and love it! But for my taste, I microwave for not more than 2 min. per ear, I do not like fresh corn over cooked. Four ears is the most I've tried at a time. Haven't had a problem with the silk, but then a few left on don't bother me a bit.

Annie, like you, I don't want to 'waste' any corn by cutting off too much. So after I cut the end off I use my kitchen scissors to make 3 or 4 slits up the husks from the bottom and kind of loosening them from the ear, thus allowing the ear to slide free. Works every time!

Oh, and by the way, the first video I saw for this method, (3 or 4 years ago), showed cutting the end off before cooking. But it is a LOT easier to cut it after cooking.

Rusty

We've been eating a fair amount of corn lately. It's so good this year!

I husk, wrap in waxed or parchment paper and microwave 2 minutes per corn. It's cooked perfectly for us.

Annie, I never, ever knew what purpose the tassel/silk was! Thanks for the very informative information!

Tish, cooking/steaming the corn in husks that have been routinely sprayed with pesticides or fungicides etc really bothers some people. I too have gotten away from the convenience of microwaving in the husks.Takes just a couple of minutes to shuck them, and if a few hairs get left behind, it isn't something that bothers us.

Not finding worms in corn is because of the chemicals being used on the farm.

There are so much to learn about food.

Corn silk has many beneficial medicinal uses:

"kidney stones and bladder infections but other urinary tract problems have also seen Corn-silk being used in traditional herbal medicine including an irritable bladder, bed-wetting, prostate gland enlargement and fluid retention."

Interesting also, corn silk, by coincidence? is also used in Chinese herbal medicine to treat diabetic conditions.

dcarch

I started using the microwave method for the first time this year. Will never boil or steam corn on the stove again. Had a little silk left but not enough to worry about. If we're grilling I do the corn in the husk on the grill. Was surprised the MW method was almost as good.

I wondered about the pesticides too so I found this. I've always instinctively rinsed the corn and removed the outermost layer of husk. Looks like it's a good practice.

http://www.askthefarmers.com/is-the-husk-on-sweet-corn-full-of-chemicals/