The Iroquois gave the first recorded sweet corn, called 'Papoon' to European settlers in 1779. Up until then the only corn existed in other parts of the world was animal feed. Oh people ate it too… Field corn or otherwise called dent corn has a dent in the kernels and darker yellow with larger kernels than sweet corn. Dent corn is very starchy with little or no sugar content, which explains why some people hang onto the old ways of cooking corn with milk; sometimes with lemon or butter; why they still add sugar and the worst part… why they boil it for a ridiculously long time!
Except there is no chance ending up with feed corn from the supermarket! And like bloodletting or smearing burns with grease, holding onto traditions is not always in our best interest. Yet the argument how long to cook corn goes on. Once vacationing with Hungarian friends we had a bit of a fiasco over the corn. The vibrantly fresh corn we brought up from the market was totally destroyed and then my friend who cooked it complained how long it took… I was incredulous and said “I never heard of cooking corn for hours… you just boiled the life out of it” was my tactless response. But my friend wouldn’t budge and insisted that’s how you cook corn. I thought how odd! But the ongoing dispute over corn is not restricted to Hungary. Just do a search on cooking corn. The AI gives the correct response, 7 to 10 minutes, but home cooks and even some chefs… advise cooking corn for 25 to 45 minutes! One celebrity chef salted his corn in the pot… Well salting the corn in the pot just toughens it up. Always, always salt corn at the table. Corn is BEST when it’s young and tender and the husk is bright green. Avoid corn with faded, drying husks. Don’t forget to check for well formed kernels. Don’t rip off the husks at the supermarket unless you intend to cook it the same day. The husk keeps the corn fresh a little bit longer.
Corn On The Cob
• Boil sweet corn for seven to ten minutes and don’t add salt to the cooking water. Salt hardens the kernels during cooking.
• Serve the corn promptly, right out of the pot with salt and butter.
• Bring a large pot of water to full rolling boil.
• Add the corn.
• When the water comes back to full boil, set the timer to 7 to 10 minutes depending on the maturity of the corn. Young tender corn from the beginning of the season needs less time.
• Test the kernels with a fork for doneness and consume the corn right away with salt and butter.
• That’s all there is to cooking corn on the cob.
