In Ohio, the harvest of sweet corn is perhaps the most enjoyed crop from gardens and farm markets. Fortunately, it is usually eaten in the privacy of each family’s home and should definitely be on the list of restaurant offerings that you do not want to order. Because although universally enjoyed, it is the messiest to eat. Of course at home you have the full task of preparing your yummy corn for eating.
Once the husk is removed, along with the silk, the next challenge is how to cook this delicacy. With the popularity of microwaves in most kitchens, you can heat up one or two ears in a few minutes. Otherwise, you will either steam or boil up a dozen ears, depending on the size of your family. The next step is to let it cool before you put it on the table. If the thought of watching everyone eating the corn off the ear disturbs you, perhaps you could scrape the corn into a bowl and serve it like a dish of beans. You must carefully consider such a radical alternative because many family members strongly prefer to eat their sweet corn straight off the cob.
Even though the corn may taste exactly the same coming from a dish as eating it from the cob, it somehow is not as satisfying. We have experienced such a reaction every time we offer the scraped corn. Children especially, will only eat the corn when they hold the sticky ear with their hands and attack it with their teeth. Since most folks want butter and salt added to each ear before biting into the delicious vegetable, the ears become very slippery before you even start eating. Children and adults alike seem to be totally oblivious to the kernels flying everywhere and butter dripping down their chins and from their fingers.
Having grown up on a farm when there was never a summer without sweet corn, I assumed that everyone ate corn off the cob the same way. Picking up the ear with both hands and attacking it like a typewriter from left to right, eating two or three rows at a time. This seemed to be the most efficient approach because you wanted to finish each ear as there was another one after that for you to enjoy. If you make the mistake of inviting a guest for a meal in which sweet corn is on the menu, you may find that they are confused as how to approach the ear and choose to take random bites ending up with a very messy ear with lots of corn left on the cob. This could either be a small child eating corn for the first time or a guest from another part of the country where sweet corn is not valued at such a high degree.
If you are a gardener or farmer who selects your sweet corn variety from a seed catalog, you will find that in recent years, you have more choices to make before you place your order in the dark days of winter. Bicolor corn has become very popular which just means that half of the kernels are white and half are yellow. In addition, you can choose a super sweet variety. I have found that the newer varieties are much sweeter than the older ones. This may reduce the need for salt and butter altogether, a step at the table that gives you a neater eating experience. It does not, however, reduce the explosion of kernels that occurs with every mouthful. I am not sure why sweet corn is so popular except that it is like no other garden vegetable. Because of the need to focus on each ear as you eat, table conversations tend to be at a minimum. Holding the cob in your hands and enjoying each and every bite is a unique gastronomical experience and a part of every Ohio summer.
Jim Crawford
Minerva, Ohio
