July Means Corn on The Cob
In July freshly picked corn is an important addition to your market produce section. Farmers markets start featuring corn as the starring item among the produce at the stalls.
When buying corn it is important to get the corn as close to when it was picked as possible. That is a tough thing to figure out if buying from a big market. Find the produce manager and ask if the corn is local and how long since it was picked. Taking time to find freshly picked makes a big difference in the corn on the cob that is part of many dinners in the summer.
My wife came home last night with corn and said she had to restrain herself from telling several women that they should not be husking the corn in the supermarket. She insisted that I dedicate a Post to the proper handling and preparation of of fresh corn.
Dorothy insists that you husk the corn at home and line your cooking pot with the husks. Strip and discard the corn silk. Put an inch or two of water in the pot, cover and STEAM the ears of corn. If you are making a large amount for company use a large pot and stand the corn on end.
The flavor is improved from using the husks and nutrition value is maintained by steaming rather than boiling. To serve: Melt butter and pour over the ears before serving.
Corn is a great part of summer and for much of our lives we lived in an area where corn picking and preparation was important. When entertaining we often would go to a nearby farm that picked in the morning and only sold what had been picked that morning. Corn loses it’s sugar pretty rapidly after picking so fresh picked is important. Leaving the husks on till just before preparation is also important.
When I was young, New Jersey and Maryland had the best corn and tomatoes in the nation. The sandy soil and climate seemed to be the perfect combination for these two stars of summer, Campbell’s was not founded in New Jersey by accident. It was to be close to those great tomatoes to make tomato soup. New Jersey is known as the Garden State because of the many outstanding fruits and vegetables grown in it’s sandy soil. The farms are small and most of the product never leaves this heavily populated part of our nation.
As the years passed other sections of the country discovered types and growing techniques for corn and tomatoes that rivaled the Mid – Atlantic products. Good corn and tomatoes are now grown and found in many areas. I still have strong fond memories of those hot summer days of my youth with Jersey corn and tomatoes as the special part of our meals in July and August..
Remember –Husk at home and use the husks to line the pot.
I didn’t know about lining the pot with the husks!
Our neighbors in Ct, farm the last remaining farm down the road from us and he would say put the pot on and heat the water to boiling then walk down the road to the 7 acre field and pick all the corn you want!
Our other neighbor was President of Campbells so I sent on your article. He used to be the Pres of Pepperidge Farms Hqtred in Norwalk CT. When he was made head of Campbells they lived in Philly during the week but always came home to Ridgefield at the weekends Thanks Buck I like the apolitical theme CAROL
Carol,
Now you do know about lining the pot with the husks. Anyone who boils the corn must not have confidence in the quality of the corn and doesn’t understand the nutritional advantage of steaming.
Campbells gets it’s tomatoes from various places these days other than NJ. The Jersey tomatoes probably are now too costly for their soup and the quantity produced is also probably too small to meet their needs.I’m glad you enjoyed this Post
My Defense of America theme will return tomorrow
A
A short cut that does work well is to microwave the corn in the husk. About 3-4 minutes per ear up to 15 minutes total does a nice job. Have some hot pads ready becuase husking the corn will be a hot job to handle, but the corn comes out crisp and juicy.