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Now that I have your ear, fresh corn is best
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Published: July 23, 2008
Updated: 07/22/2008 08:10 pm
This time of year, corn on the cob is a frequent Saturday-night vegetable in my house.
I buy fresh corn only during the summer, and I buy only corn that's locally grown. I want it as fresh as possible.
I usually pick up some on Saturday mornings at the farmers market. I cook it that night.
Boiled just a few minutes, smeared with butter and sprinkled with salt, fresh corn is good eating, indeed.
If we want to eat corn any other night besides Saturday, I have a problem. Corn is highly perishable. Its natural sugars start converting into starch as soon as it's picked. How quickly that happens depends on the variety of corn, but corn is generally at its peak right after harvest.
Keeping corn at its prime
Have you ever eaten a pasty, chalky ear of corn? It's not pleasant. That's one that's been sitting around too long and has turned starchy.
I suppose I could find freshly picked local corn on other days -- the downtown farmers market on Tuesdays and Thursdays certainly is a possibility. But unless I want to make the extra effort, I'm pretty much stuck with having corn just once a week.
Or I should say that I was stuck. I now have a solution, or actually two solutions, that a smarter person would have discovered ages ago.
Corn freezes well. It works for loose kernels and for corn on the cob, as long as the husks and silk have been removed. Most recipes call for boiling the corn and draining and cooling it first.
My second solution is to buy enough corn so I have leftovers. Then I scrape the kernels off the cob and store them an in airtight container in the fridge, where they will keep for three or four days.
Though I'm tempted to buy a bushel of corn and freeze it for the winter, I've been using the second solution, and finding different ways to serve it.
Lots of uses for leftovers
Too many corn recipes call for a can of corn and include too many ingredients. Though fresh corn will improve just about any dish normally made with commercially frozen or canned corn, I prefer not to hide or drown the flavor of fresh corn in a dish with canned soup, cornbread mix or tons of cheese.
After playing around in the kitchen and searching my cookbooks and the Web, a few ideas have emerged for using leftover corn.
First, fresh-cooked corn is really delicious in salads. Corn likes vinegar, as well as citrus juice, in vinaigrettes.
Second, corn doesn't need a lot of other flavors mixed with it. It can't compete with chipotle peppers, for instance, because of their strong smoky flavor.
Third, though we think of corn as a vegetable, it pays to remember that it's a grain -- a starch. So I usually avoid mixing it with another starch, such as rice, pasta or potatoes. An exception is beans. A black-bean-and-corn salsa has a nice contrast of textures and flavors, especially with the right accent ingredients.
I've also formed a short list of ingredients that go well with corn, besides vinegar. Butter is at the top of the list for hot foods. I also love corn with tomatoes and with most fresh peppers, particularly sweetish red bell peppers and mildly spicy jalapenos. Bacon is also great with corn.
Here a few ideas for using up leftover cooked corn:
□ In a tossed salad, especially one with tomatoes. I prefer corn with an oil-and-vinegar dressing, not a creamy, dressing.
□ Sauteed with butter. Actually, the corn needs to be in the pan only long enough to be heated thoroughly. It's great by itself, but other vegetables can be added, too. Choose just one of the following, to keep the corn flavor in the forefront, and cook the chosen vegetable first in the butter before adding the corn: scallions, cherry tomatoes or mushrooms. Also consider Southern "fried" corn, in which the kernels are cooked slowly in bacon drippings. (The Recipe Database at www.journalnow.com has a recipe for Southern fried corn.)
□ Stewed with okra and tomatoes. Again, just toss the cooked kernels in at the end. This is good made with diced jalapeno or some Creole seasoning to give it a little kick. It can be served with some crumbled bacon on top. (See the recipe for stewed tomatoes and okra in the Recipe Database).
□ Corn and bacon dip. I found a recipe at http://tasteofhome.com that combines cream cheese, mayonnaise, bacon, corn, garlic and hot sauce.
□ Salsa. This can go a lot of ways. You can take a favorite tomato salsa and simply add corn to it. Or omit the tomatoes and substitute black beans. I particularly like corn, lime juice and jalapenos together. The salsa also could include diced red or green bell peppers and even a pinch of cumin. Salsas are even more interesting with leftover grilled or roasted corn. Tasteofhome.com has a recipe that it calls roasted corn and avocado dip that's basically guacamole with roasted corn kernels in it.
■ Michael Hastings, the Journal's Food editor, can be contacted by phone at 727-7394, e-mail at mhastings@wsjournal.com, or mail at c/o Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. Recent columns can be read at www.journalnow.com.
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