Fun Poll: How Do You Eat Corn On The Cob

[N02L84ER]

I add a half teaspoon of sugar to the boiling water before adding the corn. I add butter, salt, and pepper right before eating. I usually eat them one row at a time unless they are overcooked, then I eat them in circles.

 

[pb4uski]

This time of year when local sweet corn is available we have it almost every night.

We used to shuck the ears and boil them in water. While we still do that if we have a number of ears to cook, and perhaps add a teaspoon of sugar to the boiling water, if it's just the two of us we microwave and then cut the stalk end and push it out the stalk end clean as a whistle.

https://youtu.be/9Vyd2PA8Pmw?t=40

We usually have a butter spreader going during the season. Butter and salt and enjoy! Sometimes I add pepper if I'm adventurous.

I eat typewriter-style from left-to-right... from the poll results I see a majority of respondents know the most proper way to eat sweet corn on the cob.

If we have extra then sometimes I'll cut kernels off the cobs for corn chowder.

 

[MarieIG]

Oh, it's been a while, but I will only eat corn off the cob - left to right, usually boiled, but I have had it grilled. Those cobs were clean. I don't believe that I ever missed a kernel.

 

[ERD50]

... UMMmmm, nothing better than fresh sweet corn right from the stalk, boil in a pot at the end of the field! Had lots of corn feeds with my cousins.

... There is nothing like fresh sweet corn straight off the stalk, I had an uncle who was a corn farmer. If you've never had it really fresh, you have to make the opportunity for yourself. ...

Agree that fresh is very important, but with the modern hybrids you can be a bit more lax. As I said earlier, picked at its peak and kept cool, it can be held even for days with little degradation, and a few hours would be hard to detect (not so many years ago). I've read that the big farms in Florida, picked in Jan/Feb, are dropped right into cold water in the field.

The highest level of freshness, which I've always wanted to do just so I could say I did it, is to cook it before you pick it. The idea is to set up a propane burner and pot of water right next to the stalk, and dip it into the pot w/o removing it from the stalk. Can't get any fresher!

.... And eaten in rows, from the small end to the large, left to right. The small end is ALWAYS on the left, in accordance with galactic law.

Hmmmm. I guess it depends what galaxy you are from. Here on Earth, large end to the left rules!

.... and use little corn fork holders. ...

For no particular reason, we always made fun of those little corn holder things. Just pick it up and eat it!

https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/are-you-eating-corn-the-right-way/

That was good! (I won't bother to copy/paste it all, see it on the linked post)

-ERD50

 

[Jerry1]

I chose “Other”. I cut it off the cob but I don’t fry it. I cook it in water and then cut it off the cob and eat it with a fork. Butter and salt to taste. Simple reason - I can’t stand stuff stuck between my teeth.

 

[Sunset]

I liked it bbq as a Greek street food, sort of had a popcorn taste. Was cooked already shucked.
Often I will soak the corn in a plastic bag of water for 10+ minutes, then cook UNshucked, the green does often burn, but inside is lovely, best done when camping due to the mess.
Else I boil it.
I eat it with butter and s&p , left to right.

 

[pb4uski]

When we were campling and had a woodfire with cooking grate on top we would soak unhusked in water and then cook on the grate (or on a propane gas grill)... it would essentially steam in the husk similar to the microwave method.

Hard to judge doneness that way though... sometimes it was great and sometimes undercooked.

 

[CardsFan]

When we were campling and had a woodfire with cooking grate on top we would soak unhusked in water and then cook on the grate (or on a propane gas grill)... it would essentially steam in the husk similar to the microwave method.

Hard to judge doneness that way though... sometimes it was great and sometimes undercooked.

We almost always cook it this way, since we are usually grilling something as well. I have found that 20-30 minutes is good. I had a friend that worked setting up large picnics and he swore by it. said you could cook it, put it in a cooler to stay warm (oxymoron, I know) and it would be good for an hour. Never tried that myself.

I have always eaten corn in proper "typewriter" fashion - down the length left to right, carriage return and platen advance, down the length left to right. My brother always ate random patches here and there, which made me cringe. A sure sign of a disordered mind.

Typewriter style was my first thought. I am sure folks in their teens have no idea what that means

 

[pb4uski]

I don't get #3... cut off the cob and fried?

Like in a deep fryer or air fryer? Or in a frying pan?

 

[RunningBum]

If you love corn on the cob, get yourself a big steamer pot and steam the corn rather than put it in the pot to boil. I get the water boiling and then steam it for 5 minutes. I won't argue if you steam it for 3 or 4 minutes.

 

[Gumby]

If you love corn on the cob, get yourself a big steamer pot and steam the corn rather than put it in the pot to boil. I get the water boiling and then steam it for 5 minutes. I won't argue if you steam it for 3 or 4 minutes.

That's how we always do it too.

 

[lucky penny]

I cook it in the microwave. For a while I used the wet paper towel method (described above in #11), but then I read that if you cook it UNSHUCKED in the microwave, the leaves peel off very easily afterwards without leaving behind any of those pesky, stringy threads. I was very skeptical about this, but tried it & was amazed -- it works beautifully. For me, 2 min & 45 seconds of cooking is perfect. So much faster than waiting for a pot of water to boil -- not to mention it's nice to avoid boiling a big pot of water in the kitchen on a hot summer day.

Yes, I eat it in rings, rotating the cob, with the fat end on the left. I didn't realize there was any other way! Seems natural because the kernels on the fatter end tend to be a little bigger & plumper so why not eat them all first? -- & by the time you get to the other end, those taste pretty good too!

 

[MarieIG]

I liked it bbq as a Greek street food, sort of had a popcorn taste. Was cooked already shucked.
Often I will soak the corn in a plastic bag of water for 10+ minutes, then cook UNshucked, the green does often burn, but inside is lovely, best done when camping due to the mess.
Else I boil it.
I eat it with butter and s&p , left to right.

Yep!

 

[RunningBum]

I cook it in the microwave. For a while I used the wet paper towel method (described above in #11), but then I read that if you cook it UNSHUCKED in the microwave, the leaves peel off very easily afterwards without leaving behind any of those pesky, stringy threads. I was very skeptical about this, but tried it & was amazed -- it works beautifully. For me, 2 min & 45 seconds of cooking is perfect. So much faster than waiting for a pot of water to boil -- not to mention it's nice to avoid boiling a big pot of water in the kitchen on a hot summer day.

Yes, I eat it in rings, rotating the cob, with the fat end on the left. I didn't realize there was any other way! Seems natural because the kernels on the fatter end tend to be a little bigger & plumper so why not eat them all first? -- & by the time you get to the other end, those taste pretty good too!

Unshucked and dry in the microwave? And unwrapped?

I eat in rings, left to right, small kernels to big, because ... I don't know, that's just how I've done it. Maybe as a warmup on the smalls to get to the bigs? Maybe because the bigs are best, so I want to leave the best taste in my mouth when I'm done?

 

[lucky penny]

Unshucked and dry in the microwave? And unwrapped?

yes. yes. yes.

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/the_easiest_way_to_microwave_corn_on_the_cob/

 

[audreyh1]

Funny timing on the poll. I haven’t eaten corn on the cob in years, but being local to the famous Olathe sweet corn, we picked up a couple of ears. We make exceptions for local specialties.

We use the microwave to steam corn in the husk. So easy, comes out great. I hope we remember the timing. I remember we do peel off the outer leaves, leaving a few of the inner.

 

[MarieIG]

Funny timing on the poll. I haven’t eaten corn on the cob in years, but being local to the famous Olathe sweet corn, we picked up a couple of ears. We make exceptions for local specialties.

And rightly so.

 

[oldtimer]

There is no wrong way to eat corn on the cob as long as it is covered in butter. i never really thought about it but I guess I eat in rows. I'm not a really big fan of corn on the cob though. I prefer my corn in the form of creamed corn on top of mashed potatoes.

Your preference reminded me of that MASH episode A War for All Seasons.

 

[RunningBum]

yes. yes. yes.

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/the_easiest_way_to_microwave_corn_on_the_cob/

Thanks! I'll give it a try next time.

 

[connor77]

I think cooking (boiling) it for more than two and a half minutes is ruining it. I'm not sure that people realize that cooking it so long takes all the sugar out of it. I've told so many people that they should try cooking it for just a few seconds longer than 2 minutes and everyone tells me after they've tried this they'll never cook it longer again. I don't want a mouthful of tasteless mush and anything over 2.5 minutes yields this...IMHO. I make sure water is a rolling boil and I spin the ears with tongs one time during the cook. White or silver queen is now becoming available in my area. It's a summer time treat!

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

I've been rubbing the dehusked corn with a little olive oil and air frying this year (380-400º for about 10 min seems good but I go visual). Gets a little charring and concentrates the sweetness as it dries it slightly. The kernels come off completely too so it's more efficient! A little butter and S&P! And munch it down row by row much faster than Ms Manners would approve.

 

[DrRoy]

My grandfather used to say that the corn wasn't fresh unless you bent the stalk over to put the ear into the boiling pot.

 

[Koolau]

Cut off the cob but not fried.

 

[ERD50]

Another thought came to mind. This might not be so true anymore (TV, movies, internet has spread cultural differences all over the globe), but back in the 60/70's, I recall hearing from customers of our sweet corn stand, that their visiting relatives from Europe were appalled that we served corn on the cob at the table, to be eaten with the hands!

"That's how you feed corn to horses!", they would say.

And is it "corn on the cob" or "corn off the cob"? Another poll? You pick apples OFF the tree, but the apples are ON the tree?

-ERD50

 

[Gumby]

When my mother and I immigrated to this country, she also was offended when her new mother-in-law fed her maize as if she were livestock. Maize is what they call corn in England.