Okay, let’s talk corn

bpath

last year

What is your favorite way to prepare corn on the cob? How about corn OFF the cob?

Featured Answer

lily316

last year

I always saved the end of my cob for my African Grey parrot, Ollie, and he loved it. He's been gone for years, but each time I eat corn, I think about him. Sweet dear bird.

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Comments (63)

Ally De
last year
I would eat the corn every single one of you listed above. Yum.

Microwaving fresh corn in the husk is my go to. So easy, so good.
Bluebell66
last year
We either grill in the husk or microwave in the husk. Both delicious! I always used to boil multiple ears but it's just two of us these days and we only do two at a time.
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faftris
last year
Microwave for me too. My mother used to boil the life out of it.
vgkg Z-7 Va
last year
last modified: last year
We'll be picking our 4th plot of Ambrosia corn by this weekend. Boil for 5 minutes, butter, salt & pepper. Picking it at it's peak for sweetness and tenderness is the key, there's a 3 day window where it's perfect corn before the sugars start to starch up and the kernals become a bit chewy.

Pic from this morning ...
ladypat1
last year
I am a log roller. Boil for 3 minutes, slather in butter and salt. My best memory of eating corn, is watching my grandfathers' border collie eat it. We would be sitting in yard, and Grandpa would say "well go on and get you one" to the dog. He would go to the edge of the corn field, He would tear down a cornstalk, drag it up by us and tear off an ear. He would then tear off the husk and then lay down and eat the corn off the ear. We were so entertained, watching that dog. LOL. Of course this was 60 years ago, before we knew the best diets for dogs.
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
last year
last modified: last year
Water soaked, on the grill with the husks. My wife prefers the charred kernels. Typewriter eater.

tj
chloebud
last year
last modified: last year
I get a daily email from thekitchen.com. These links are part of the one for today (although wrapping the cobs in bacon doesn’t really appeal to me).

1 - CORN

2 - CORN
Toronto Veterinarian
last year
I buy it in the husk, and leave it in the husk until I'm ready to make it. Sometimes, if it's good corn, I can eat it raw. Usually I put it in boiling water for 2 or 3 minutes and sprinkle salt on it. No butter - it overpowers the taste of the corn.
rob333 (zone 7b)
last year
last modified: last year
Chloe, you reminded me of my mom (she has been on my mind a lot lately). She was southern, through, and through. She made the same fudge pie as her mother, and the recipe Glenda posted. She would make "fried corn". The most overkill thing I can think of. And it was delicious. You slice the corn off the cob, fry it in bacon grease, thicken it with flour, and then add milk until it is the right consistency. S/P to your heart's content. Has to be made in cast iron; dunno why, but that's what she did.
lucillle
last year
Anyone remember the episode in MASH where Father Mulcahey tends to a patch of corn so carefully all season so that they can have corn on the cob on July 4 and it gets served to him as creamed corn?
chloebud
last year
“Chloe, you reminded me of my mom…”

🥰
LynnNM
last year
Mexican Street Corn
chloebud
last year
Love it, Lyn!

A dip version I’ve been meaning to try.

Mexican Street Corn Dip
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
last year
I like it best raw 😁

And cooked, in many things - on the cob too with lashings of butter.
Sherry8aNorthAL
last year
Nothing charred for hubby. He also cannot eat corn on the cob anymore. Of course I eat anything that cannot escape, lol.

I put corn on the cob in crawfish with sausage when I make it for me.
HU-279332973
last year
When I was little I would only eat corn ON the cob. Grannie was big on cream style and out of the blue she decided we all needed to eat a tast of everything on the table. We usually had ten or so vegetables in season and I flatly refused to eat the cream corn. I sat at the table for hours. I was finally convinced to eat one tiny grain so my Grannie could technically declare victory let me go and they never did that again.

I have had two different cats that adored corn. It was not the butter. They chewed the corn right off the cob.

patriciae
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
last year
I love creamed corn!
Ally De
last year
African greys are my favorite bird. I always wanted one. So smart!!
Elmer J Fudd
last year
We use the simple method, boiled in water for a few minutes.

We eat it "plain". No butter, no salt, no anything else. We like corn but perhaps less enthusiastically and less frequently than some of you. We may have had some a month ago but not since.

I'm a two way typewriter. I start in one direction, reverse and go back to the other, and continue like that
bpath
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
I actually prefer to remove the corn from the cob and eat it with a fork. I don’t like that it gets caught in my teeth.

I do like creamed corn but I haven’t had it in ages. (Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse has amazing creamed spinach btw.) A relish of corn, mango, tomato, onion is delicious on salmon.

In the burger thread I mentioned cooking it on the hibachi for aghast French friends. I used to slather with butter and wrap in foil and put it on the hibachi, so delicious. Our French friends liked it but were still dubious about eating it off the cob. I’ve tried all kinds of boil methods, grill, microwave, with and without the husks and/or foil, and my verdict is: summer corn is delicious!
Toronto Veterinarian
last year
Really good creamed corn, like creamed spinach, is awesome. But there's so much out there that isn't very good.
rob333 (zone 7b)
last year
last modified: last year
Chloe, if you only knew. She was my best friend. We were really close, we even worked together, drove to work together, hung out after work together.... Man, I miss her. Yes, it was a very great compliment to you. Thank you for reminding me of her.

BACK TO CORN.....
chloebud
last year
Rob, I know what a treasure moms can be, and it sure sounds like yours was that and more.💕

Back to corn, I was thinking about cutting the kernels off. I found that if you start cutting halfway down the cob, fewer kernels will fly around. Flip to the other end and cut the other half. That’s if it matters to you!
colleenoz
last year
I love corn pretty much any way but DH prefers Mexican Street Corn and isn't keen on regular corn on the cob. I'm a typewriter eater- I always wanted to be able to eat corn like Heckle and Jekyll! LOL

We have a cat who likes to chew on corn cobs after the corn has been eaten. She's a little weird but we love her anyway :-D
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
last year
I'm a fan of creamed spinach too 😀
chloebud
last year
Regarding creamed spinach, Ina G’s Spinach Gratin is one version I like.
Indigo Rose
last year
Yum! I buy organic ears from WF, microwave in 1 layer of husk and eat plain -no salt or butter. I only can buy some 2 or 3 times a season as WF's is so far away and I can't find it closer, usually buying a bunch of ears and eat one every night for a week or so. I'm hoping for a third batch before it's unavailable.
OutsidePlaying
last year
Corn on the cob is one of my favorites. I bring the water to a boil, add the corn, cover and reduce heat to a simmer and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Done.

I also love creamed corn, the old fashioned way…slice it off the cob, scrape the cob for the ’milk’, throw it in an iron skillet with a lot of butter and add a little milk to it (or cream). Bring to a soft boil over med heat and cook 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly to keep from sticking. Add S&P to taste at the end of cooking.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
"Our French friends liked it but were still dubious about eating it off the cob. "

Perhaps that was a quirk of those particular people. Corn on the cob isn't unusual in France. You always seem to get those little prongs for sticking in the ends in rental kitchens.
lettersatoz
last year
I love fresh corn! Boiled 5 mins, butter & pepper, but I’m sorry to say….I always cut it off the cob. And I’ll let it cool a couple of mins before I do so that more of the kernels stay together. There’s something oddly satisfying to me to have it come off in one whole row - ha! .

This summer I found an elote corn & chicken salad recipe that we loved, so I bought even more than I usually do.
matthias_lang
last year
Straight from the garden to either the already boiling water or the microwave. I'm a purist. No need for salt, seasoning, or butter. Those are acceptable on a starchy corn, but not on the sweet, just picked corn. Love corn on the cob for breakfast.
chisue
last year
last modified: last year
My DM had a Victory Garden during WWII. She'd set the water to boiling, then RUN back in from the garden with the corn and drop it in to steam. (One of my earliest memories.) Her silver set has prongs shaped like ears of corn, and I remember individual elongated glass dishes to roll the corn in melted butter.

I think people went all out for various foods *in season* in he days before you could buy raspberries (from Chile) in February for less than a king's ransom.

I'm 'typewriter'. DH is 'log roller'. He also insists on a separate plate on which to set the denuded cob.
HU-279332973
last year
As a young thing on my Grannie's farm we ate green field corn for sweet corn because that is traditional. Since she kept seed she would not have grown the for her the very new sweet corn.

when I was older eating sweet corn was like candy and is even more so these days.

There is certainly something in the flavor of the corn when it is fresh picked. I havent been able to take advantage of that having not grown corn where I gardened. It did not prosper.

patriciae
bee0hio
last year
We’ve been eating COTC frequently fresh from the cousin’s nearby garden. I drop the husked/silked corn in a pot of boiling water. In a couple of minutes when the water has returned to a boil, I dump the water & leave the corn in the hot pot with lid on until ready to serve. I tried the microwave method & found the boiling water easier & less messy and just as tasty.

I’m a hybrid COTC eater, while dh is a typewriter.
roxsolid
last year
last modified: last year
I just remembered this and searched in the back of my cupboard for it. For those of you who like butter on their corn on the cob, this is a Butter Buddy. It’s great for children to butter their corn. You put a small block of butter inside, and run it along the corn. You feed the butter through the bottom and plunge it out. During corn eating season you can store the butter inside it (and in the fridge) to keep the butter firm. It’s pretty mess free. We don’t eat enough corn, and don’t have small children over often enough to use it. But I would, if we did. 🤠
colleenoz
last year
I always remember a music video back in the day where the singer (iirc it was Cyndi Lauper in "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun") heavily buttered a slice of bread and then cupped it around a corn cob while she rotated to cob to get the butter all around it.
nancy_in_venice_ca
last year
Having had to wear braces for years until my hard-to-move teeth were finally straightened, I lost the habit of eating corn on the cob.

We never even once had creamed corn in our family, or any kind of creamed vegetable. I’ve never been moved to prepare any either.

Polenta we did have.
outpaientzero
last year
My favorite way to eat plain old corn off the cob is a bag of Fritos, but sweet corn is a ritual I practice every summer. Like VGKG I stagger the planting time to extend the season, and at first I planted sugar-enhanced (SE) Bilicious, peaches and cream or Ambrosia, and all were good compared to standard sweet corn (SU) we grew up on as kids.

But my neighbor and I also started planting and testing shrunken-2 gene (Sh2) varieties 15 years ago, and all produced super sweet corn but the flavor and texture was never right, until we tried Nirvana.

Nirvana is super sweet and can hold the sweetness for a week with the perfect flavor and texture that can't be beat. (but I'm sure there are others) The kernels are crisp and pop easily but the kernel skin is thin so it's easy to chew and never gets stuck in our teeth, or even noticed.

We prepare it on the cob in boiling water, on the grill in the husk, or buttered & seasoned wrapped in tin foil on the grill. We also cut off the kernels after blanching and freeze it and nearly as good as fresh. For salty snacks I turn to Fritos, but for a heavenly sweet snack I freeze dry the Nirvana kernels which enhances the sweetness and flavor for a crunchy treat lasting for a decade or more in the Mylar bags.
bpath
Original Author
last year
Kevin, lol lol! Fritos! and Bugles. Love those.
roxsolid
last year
🤠Don’t forget popcorn!
Sherry8aNorthAL
last year
My favorite fresh corn is Honey and Cream.
chisue
last year
roxsol -- I want a Butter Buddy like yours! Such a neat way to butter *anything* warm.

I have a recipe for Corn Pudding using canned creamed corn. It lost some appeal once I heard a man go into detail about his summer job processing corn in an open air cannery.
HU-279332973
last year
Creamed corn is interesting to make. You have a special double wooden trough with teeth on one side and a scraper on the other and you run the cob through the cutter with multiple passes until all the kernals are split the run it over the scraper on the other side squishing out the corn guts into a big pan. toss the cob with the skins on into a wash tub to haul to the hogs. You get goo with flecks of yellow. Industrial family thing. My grannie raised the corn and the extended family showed to process the goo which gets frozen in batches. Do not bleed into the goo. This stuff gets cooked in a skillet with bacon fat. The mouth feel of creamed corn was the big off put to me. Like eating glue

patriciae
chloebud
last year
last modified: last year
“It lost some appeal once I heard a man go into detail about his summer job processing corn in an open air cannery.”

Ugh, chisue, I’ve heard some of those details, too!🥴

Regarding corn pudding, it’s been awhile since I’ve made this version that’s good.

Ina Garten - Corn Pudding
chisue
last year
chloebud -- I suppose the, er, insect content, has changed over the years.
colleenoz
last year
@ patriciae -"corn guts" LOL
roxsolid
last year
Has anyone here tried huitlacoche?

(corn s m u t)

No this is not a leading question . 🤠😳

eta A Mexican restaurant in my area has it on their menu, but I’ve not tried it. I’ve seen it offered in Mexico.
roxsolid
11 months ago
last modified: 11 months ago
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/06/science/lunar-eclipse-full-corn-moon

“The Algonquin tribes in what is now the northeastern USA coined the term corn moon, according to the Maine Farmer's Almanac, since this was the time for gathering their main staple crops of corn, pumpkins, squash, beans and wild rice.”

Look up!

The full corn moon will peak this weekend, accompanied by a total lunar eclipse.

eta I tried huitlacoche this week. It tasted like a mushroom taco. Interesting flavour.
colleenoz
11 months ago
If I remember correctly, Lars is a fan of huitlacoche.

Okay, let’s talk corn

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