Eat Local Spotlight: Corn

Here in the Northeast, sweet corn has arrived! Farmstands everywhere are selling the best of their crop, which was hurt by an unusually rainy month of June. Let’s support these farms by picking up some fresh corn for dinner tonight!

Corn on the cob is delicious and fun to eat, especially for kids. They love smooshing their little mouths into the cob, gnawing off each crispy kernel, racing from end to end until every one has been devoured. Some don’t make it all the way to the end. My husband always leaves the ends untouched, about five kernels deep. I’ve never understood him. To me, it’s unimaginable waste even one bit of this summer gold. Perhaps there are a few who pick up their corn in between other bites of their meal. But most can’t seem to put it down once they’ve started. I’m this way with my corn on the cob, and popcorn for that matter! It has that something that makes you keep coming back for more. Besides, I’ve always figured, once you’ve got your sleeves rolled up and your napkin tucked in your shirt, you mean business. In the words of the late great Michael Jackson, “Don’t stop ’til you get enough.”

There are many different ways to prepare corn fresh from the market. You can shuck the corn and clean out the silks, then boil or steam corn over the stove top. Or, one technique reminiscent of old-school Maine lobsterbakes, is to place the corn, with husks, directly over a grill or other heat source. By soaking the corn briefly in water beforehand, you’ll get a more steamed effect. Without the water, your corn will taste a bit more smokey and savory.  Once the husks are charred well, your corn is done cooking.

My childhood dinner table always held a butter dish – it didn’t matter what we were having!  Butter was a staple ingredient in my household.   Butter was an especially delicious, artery-clogging coating for our summertime treat.   After all, taking turns with the butter dish and making cool shapes with the steamy corn was half the fun of eating it!  (And don’t forget the cute little corn poker, holder-things we all had in the 70s, 80s – and maybe still today!) Top it off with plenty of salt and pepper, and I was in heaven.

As an adult trying to find my own way in the world of cooking, eating and entertaining, I learned a wonderful alternative for flavoring fresh corn on the cob: lime juice! At your next summer gathering, rather than serving butter, try slicing a lime into eight pieces and serving a slice with each ear. By rubbing the slice of lime over the corn, the bumpy ridges will draw just the right amount of lime juice into the cob. And trust me, the tangy citrus fruit makes such a refreshing treat when combined with the sweet flavor of summer corn, your butter won’t be missed.

What are your favorite cooking and serving suggestions for corn, fresh from the farm?   How about recipes?  Please share!

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