Memorial Day, The Fourth of July, the county fair, Labor Day, summer picnics etc. You get the picture. I love fresh corn on the cob. I prepare it many ways and I'm going to share them with you, but first, stock up on the dental floss!

Dwelly Farms in Brentwood California grows Super Sweet
White & Yellow corn with a beautiful view of Mt. Diablo.

Corn is grown commercially in 30 states, but to keep the list short here's the main dope. In the winter fresh eating corn comes from Florida & Mexico. As spring progresses and the summer weather arrives the Coachella Valley kicks in & then right around the first couple of weeks of June (weather cooperating) we see corn from Brentwood, Stockton, & Dixon just to name a few  of our common local growing areas.

After the corn is picked it is driven to a cooling facility

Trailer full of fresh picked corn goes into the 15 minute shower.


The cool water "hydrocools" the corn to remove field heat.


Workers sort the corn and pack the best ears into 48 count boxes

The boxes of corn are sent down the line to be ice topped.

The boxes are then palletized and either placed in a cooler for pick up or loaded directly onto trucks and sent to market. This opperation occurs on a daily basis from late May to mid-October.

History

Corn is native to North, Central, and South America. The Indians of the Western Hemisphere had grown corn for thousands of years before Christopher Columbus' voyage to North America. In ancient Indian villages, petrified corncobs have been discovered that are over 5,000 years old.

Columbus traded with the Indians and took corn back to Spain and from there it was introduced to other Western European farmers and from there so on and so forth.

The early settlers were taught how to plant, store and prepare corn by the Indians. Recipes included corn bread, corn pudding, corn soup and fried corn cakes. The Indians saved the early settlers from almost certain starvation their first winter in America with, yes that's right, corn to eat!

Varieties

On the commercial market today three varieties are common. White, Yellow and Bi-colored (White & Yellow mixed on the same cob!)

It used to be that when you wanted sweet corn you would have to pick it and rush to an already boiling pot of water and throw it in! It also used to be that white corn was sweeter than yellow. Those days are long gone. Super sweet varieties and even super than super sweet varieties have been developed and now dominate our local market.  "Brentwood Diamonds"  is the latest super-super sweet variety. These varieties will stay sweet for up to seven days after being harvested if you keep them refrigerated.

 Selection

When selecting corn in the store, look for plump, firm ears (isn't it weird how we name our vegetables and fruits after body parts? Ear of corn, hand of bananas, rib of celery, heart of artichokes, head of lettuce, navel oranges etc. How about….. neck of squash? Could you hear the folks in the produce market? "Hey Joe, give me three necks of squash!" Or in the grocery store produce department a customer might ask, "How do you pick out a good neck?" One might answer by saying "come back tonight and ask my buddy with the sharp teeth who works the graveyard shift!")

Back to seriously selecting corn. Look at the husks. Make sure they are green and moist.  Feel the ear for any sunken areas that may be under the husks. Sometimes corn doesn't mature all the way or the husk doesn't fully develop.  The silk should be white or yellowish green. At times it may have a small amount of browning at the end of the silk, but the rest should be fresh and healthy.  Pull the husks back enough to reveal the tip of the ear about ¼ of the way. The kernels should be firm, plump and shiny. Avoid sunken kernels. Dry or yellowish husks and black spotted husks. This is a sign of age and is better suited for cattle.  There is no reason for corn like this to be on the rack, especially this time of year when the fresh harvest is in.

Cooking

Corn on the cob is easy to prepare. Here are some alternatives to boiling, buttering and salting.

When corn is fresh, instead of shucking all the husks off and dumping them in the barrel in the produce department, bring em' home husks and all. Throw them on the grill with whatever else you may be barbecuing and let em' cook right there in the husks! Keep turning them when you turn the other stuff. In fact if you peel away some of the husks a little bit and let some of the kernels get charred; it will add a fantastic flavor to the corn. You could even eat it without any stuff on it! 

Another way that works well is, again, leaving it in the husks and cooking it in the microwave.  5 minutes per ear. So 15 min for 3 ears and so forth. I've never cooked more than 3 ears at a time in the microwave so you may have to adjust time as you add more ears.

Do not peel back the husks right away, as they are very hot. Let them cool for a few minutes and then peel away.

At colder times of the year, roasting them in the oven in the husks  does them well!

Whatever you do, after you get em' naked, brush them with olive oil and sprinkle some cayenne pepper on it. MMMMM-MMMMMMMM -MMMMMMMMMMM!  Absolutely delicious! I did this last night but instead of cayenne, I used some of the essence of Emeril Vegetable Dust. It was great!

Corn does not have to be cooked to enjoy! For all you raw vegetable fanatics out there. When purchasing bins or palletized boxes of corn, I always open it, break an ear in half, and then biting into it to make sure its good. As negotiating on price with either the grower or wholesaler progresses, I usually finish eating the whole ear. I always get the price I want. Maybe the salesperson is uncomfortable with the fact that I'm eating it raw or he's grossed out from the little corn chunks flying onto him as we haggle on price. Nah its charm and personality, that's it, yeah that's it.  All kidding aside it really is good raw and does not have to be cooked. I remember as a boy in Vermont my cousin Louie & I sneaking into a big huge garden and picking the corn. We would peel it and eat it right there . 

Experiment with it. Cut it off the husks and add it to salad or fry it up in a pan with some olive oil and spices. Add it to an omelet or make pancakes. It's crispy, juicy, and sweet!