Raw Corn

[ERD50]

I don't understand boiling corn. You have to wait a long time for all that water to get to boiling ...

Just tradition I guess. That's the way I've always seen it done. It does seem like a waste to heat all that water for a few minutes of cooking. I'll try steaming sometime.

Roasting is good too, we do it once in a while.

-ERD50

 

[HFWR]

Another way of prepping fresh sweet corn is to cut from the cob and "fry" in butter.

 

[Chuckanut]

Raw sweet corn, fresh blue berries, a bit of green onion, a few chopped nuts and a dash of rice vinegar - Just Wonderful!

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Grilled, husks on.

As we'd say in the south (of Indiana...), "Roshin ears"

That's "roasting ears", if anyone needed a translation into English...

We were almost from Indiana and my dad always pronounced that differently. He'd say "roastneers".

 

[HFWR]

We were almost from Indiana and my dad always pronounced that differently. He'd say "roastneers".

Yep, same.

 

[Dimsumkid]

We got a chance to try fresh raw Mirai corn from Twin Garden Farms in Harvard,IL. They sell it at the local Farmers Market, $4 for 6 ears and had some samples. This stuff is so sweet, it's like eating dessert! Makes the grocery store bought stuff seem like cattle feed. Only problem is it'll be really hard to switch back to the cheap stuff!

 

[ERD50]

We got a chance to try fresh raw Mirai corn from Twin Garden Farms in Harvard,IL. They sell it at the local Farmers Market, $4 for 6 ears and had some samples. This stuff is so sweet, it's like eating dessert! Makes the grocery store bought stuff seem like cattle feed. Only problem is it'll be really hard to switch back to the cheap stuff!

Funny, I mentioned this to DW, and she said 'Mirai' was the corn we had this past week, from our local farmer's market. Grown by The Red Barn in Woodstock, rather than TGF in Harvard, but the same variety.

Yep, that was gooooood corn, the real deal!

Those farms are in the general area I grew up, real corn country.

-ERD50

 

[JOHNNIE36]

I'd still like to hear from anyone that has a corn/veggie steamer, If you like it how about letting us know the name of it, who makes it and/or where can I get one. Ours is going to get trashed one of these days because we've had it for over 12 years.

 

[Sue J]

DH has had a garden every year since he retired in 2010. This years yield was really poor due to bunnies and weather in NE Ohio. Our cool nights started in mid August.

This year he tried growing corn for the first time, just a couple of plants, just to see what would happen. The plants were nice looking and we got some ears of corn! Being new at this, he didn't harvest them at the right time and they must have gone a few days past prime picking. They were small and looked good enough but they were starchy and bland.



I hope he'll try corn again next year and learn when to harvest. We've always boiled but I'd like to try raw and roasted or steamed.

 

[MooreBonds]

This year he tried growing corn for the first time, just a couple of plants, just to see what would happen.

Those ears look fairly good for a first-time.

I tried planting corn a number of years ago (back in my early 20s, when I lived at my parents place). I found out the hard way that when you plant corn, you have to plant a lot of it, and in rows, because they fertilize each other by wind/gravity. So if you have them in a single file, you'll get a lot of ears that have missing kernels.

Looks like your DH did a good job locating them for "just a few plants"! Hope he does better next year (and maybe tries a better variety?)

 

[ERD50]

Those ears look fairly good for a first-time.

I tried planting corn a number of years ago (back in my early 20s, when I lived at my parents place). I found out the hard way that when you plant corn, you have to plant a lot of it, and in rows, because they fertilize each other by wind/gravity. So if you have them in a single file, you'll get a lot of ears that have missing kernels. ...

True. Corn really needs to be planted in blocks for that reason. Outside of planting on a farm scale, I've not had luck, but that is because raccoons would find them and strip them bare just as they were ready to pick. I needed a big enough area to feed the racoons and the family.

On the farm the racoons had no problem finding 20 rows of sweet corn in the middle of hundreds of rows of field corn.

If those ears were starchy, probably just picked too late. It's a bit of an art, but if you can pull back some husk and see that it is yellow near the end and whiter at the tip you are probably close. Those ears look to be pretty yellow all the way to the end.

BTW, DW didn't make it to the farmer's market yesterday and just got grocery store corn for tonight's dinner. If I would have known, I would have gone to the FM. But it was still quite good. Years ago, I would never touch grocery store corn, it was terrible. The bar has been raised though.

Costco only has corn that is pre-husked. I won't buy it, w/o the husk, I can't judge freshness. And it just seems wrong.


-ERD50

 

[Nemo2]

Here we call multicolored ears Peaches and Cream

Ditto Canada.

 

[Badger]

A few years back when my garden was larger I would grow corn but only early spring sweet corn. It never made it to the kitchen. Eating it in the garden while it was ambient temperature and as fresh as possible made sure it was SWEET, JUICY, and exceptionally TENDER. It was my "candy" fix. Cooking did nothing to improve the flavor or tenderness. Any corn varieties planted later were not acceptable and would produce corn that was starchy and tough like grocery store corn that has to survive shipping and a long time from harvest to table that only negatively changes the corn characteristics (think winter grocery store "cardboard" tomatos). Even what the grocery store calls sweet corn is not even close.

Find a neighbor or a "U-Pick" farm that grows EARLY SPRING SWEET CORN and try it yourself.

Cheers!

 

[ERD50]

Find a neighbor or a "U-Pick" farm that grows EARLY SPRING SWEET CORN and try it yourself.

Cheers!

Can you name a specific variety? EARLY SPRING SWEET CORN seems like just a generic description.

List of sweetcorn varieties - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

-ERD50

 

[Badger]

Can you name a specific variety? EARLY SPRING SWEET CORN seems like just a generic description.

List of sweetcorn varieties - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

-ERD50

Your link should give you a good idea and it rates varieties by degree of sweetness. Varieties like Kandy Korn, Peaches and Cream, and Honey and Pearl would make nice selections. I don't recall the varieties I planted. It was more than a decade ago. If you are growing in a small home garden I would suggest growing them in a block at least 5 X 5 (25) plants square. More is better and you will find yourself planting 3-4 times that the next season. Pick and use immediately. If you go to a U-pick then ask the farmer for the variety, do a google search, and then decide if you want to make the trip to the farm. If you cook them only keep in the water for enough time to warm them up for butter but no more. Letting them sit in the refrigerator more than 24 hours results in them going to more starch and lose the sweetness.

Cheers!

 

[zesty]

I grow sweet corn and can easily eat 5 or 6 raw ears for supper.

Ambrosia and Incredible, those are the best varieties I have planted.

 

[veremchuka]

I'd still like to hear from anyone that has a corn/veggie steamer, If you like it how about letting us know the name of it, who makes it and/or where can I get one. Ours is going to get trashed one of these days because we've had it for over 12 years.

I just use a 6 or 8 quart stock pot. I put about 3/4" of water in it and a plain old vegetable steamer basket. I put in 4-6 ears depending upon their size. Bring the water to a boil and then steam it for 5-6 minutes covered of course.

I bought mine at Walmart for a few dollars but this is what they look like.

Trudeau Stainless Steel Vegetable Steamer | Free Shipping

 

[imoldernu]

I just use a 6 or 8 quart stock pot. I put about 3/4" of water in it and a plain old vegetable steamer basket. I put in 4-6 ears depending upon their size. Bring the water to a boil and then steam it for 5-6 minutes covered of course.

I bought mine at Walmart for a few dollars but this is what they look like.

Trudeau Stainless Steel Vegetable Steamer | Free Shipping

Thanks for the link... I bought the Trudeau steamer at the local resale shop fo $1... I didn't know what it was for, and was going to use it as a hanging planter.

 

[pb4uski]

We have had one for years - the little handle shown in the photo is long gone. We use it for many veggies but rarely for corn. We just boil the corn is 3/4" of water in a large pot.

 

[ERD50]

I don't understand boiling corn. You have to wait a long time for all that water to get to boiling then toss the nutrients away in the water. I always steam it (shucked of course) in a 6 or 8 qt pot using a plain old vegetable steamer. ...

Just tradition I guess. That's the way I've always seen it done. It does seem like a waste to heat all that water for a few minutes of cooking. I'll try steaming sometime.

Roasting is good too, we do it once in a while.

-ERD50

OK, so I tried steaming the last two meals - back to boiling for us.

The first one came out good, but I actually had several inches of water, and we use the deep pasta-style basket in our 6 Qt pot. The corn was half-submerged, and I turned it every two minutes.

The second time, I kept the water just at the basket level for a true steaming, and I kept turning it, but I could see that it was darker colored on some sides than others. It just did not get cooked evenly. Wasn't bad, but I want it cooked the same all the way round.

But it still was a worthwhile experiment. Since we now only cook 2-3 ears at a time, it made us realize we only need enough water to cover the ears. Just out of habit, we had filled the pot pretty full. But the cobs pretty much lay flat in the bottom if that is all the water you use.

Similar to my experience microwaving corn - it works, sometimes perfectly, but too often it is uneven. No way for that to happen when submerged in 212F water!

-ERD50

 

[Larro Darro]

We have a couple of those in the pot type steaming baskets we use for other veggies, but we either boil corn, or cook it in the nuker. When just cooking for the two of us, the nuker is faster and easier to control. You can leave the husk on or take it off. Just wrap the ear in plastic wrap and cook on high for 20 seconds. {I think} You don't end up with soggy corn like you can with boiling.

 

[veremchuka]

OK, so I tried steaming the last two meals - back to boiling for us.

The first one came out good, but I actually had several inches of water, and we use the deep pasta-style basket in our 6 Qt pot. The corn was half-submerged, and I turned it every two minutes. So you boiled it steaming is when the water is below the streamer basket. In a 4 or 6 qt pot I put 1" of water and 4-6 ears of corn into the basket. I start to time it when the water starts to boil for 6 minutes.

The second time, I kept the water just at the basket level for a true steaming, and I kept turning it unnecessary, but I could see that it was darker colored on some sides than others. It just did not get cooked evenly. Wasn't bad, but I want it cooked the same all the way round. It steams evenly with a lid on the pot. All parts of the ear are evenly cooked.

But it still was a worthwhile experiment. Since we now only cook 2-3 ears at a time, it made us realize we only need enough water to cover the ears. Just out of habit, we had filled the pot pretty full. But the cobs pretty much lay flat in the bottom if that is all the water you use.

Similar to my experience microwaving corn - it works, sometimes perfectly, but too often it is uneven. No way for that to happen when submerged in 212F water!

-ERD50

Comments above in red.

 

[ERD50]

Comments above in red.

Makes it hard to re-quote, you lose the color and emoticons on copy/paste....

So you boiled it steaming is when the water is below the streamer basket.

Yes, I inadvertently added more water than I needed - it was about 1/2 submerged, so pretty much boiled, not steamed. And my point was, this worked better for me than the later attempt at steaming, and I still used only a little water.

In a 4 or 6 qt pot I put 1" of water and 4-6 ears of corn into the basket. I start to time it when the water starts to boil for 6 minutes.

So, you start w/cold water? So that 'warming up' time is added to the 6 minutes of steaming? I get concerned about over-cooking it, so I like to bring it up to temperature first, then time is cooking time.

It steams evenly with a lid on the pot. All parts of the ear are evenly cooked.

Mine were not. What can I say? I kept the lid on except while checking/turning. And these were just two ears in the bottom of a deep pot, so even when I open the lid the ears are right above the rising steam. If that is going to be the difference between steaming and boiling, I'll stick with boiling. I check the corn as I go, I don't want it over or under-cooked. Not a problem when boiling.

I never use time alone as a measure, I'll start looking at 4 minutes, and start tasting if it looks like it's getting done, and it gives a bit to a fork. I find that 30 seconds one way or the other can make a difference, and not all corn cooks gets done at the same rate.


-ERD50

 

[veremchuka]

In a 4 or 6 qt pot I put 1" of water and 4-6 ears of corn into the basket. I start to time it when the water starts to boil for 6 minutes.

So, you start w/cold water? So that 'warming up' time is added to the 6 minutes of steaming? I get concerned about over-cooking it, so I like to bring it up to temperature first, then time is cooking time.

Yes tap water. When it starts to boil I set the timer. I never remove the lid once the timer is running. I can't imagine why you don't get the same results, I mean this is pretty straight forwards. I'd never boil corn when steaming it is so easy, faster and probably retains more nutrients. If I have more than 1 pot of corn to cook, say 12 ears, after the 1st batch is done I use tongs to remove the cooked ears then I add more tap water and the corn then bring it back to a boil and set the timer when it is boiling again with the lid on. In my experience doing this for many years it is fool proof.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Yes tap water. When it starts to boil I set the timer. I never remove the lid once the timer is running. I can't imagine why you don't get the same results, I mean this is pretty straight forwards. I'd never boil corn when steaming it is so easy, faster and probably retains more nutrients. If I have more than 1 pot of corn to cook, say 12 ears, after the 1st batch is done I use tongs to remove the cooked ears then I add more tap water and the corn then bring it back to a boil and set the timer when it is boiling again with the lid on. In my experience doing this for many years it is fool proof.

Thanks for the help in trying to identify the steamer we use. In fact, we used it today. I should have been more clear in that we use our steamer in the microwave so it cannot be made of or contain any metal. It's held up for over ten years so maybe it will continue for a few more.