10 September 2024

Saying goodbye to sweet corn for the year


Labor Day marks the effective end of Midwesterners going to local farms to bring home newly harvested sweet corn.  We have several local farms with a mile or two of our home, so it's easy to pop over every 3-4 days for fresh produce (it costs less than a dollar a cob at the farm). 


After three or four pulls on the outer bracts and some picking off of residual silk ("angel's hair"), the corn is ready for two minutes in the microwave and a lathering of butter.  We have been spoiled by the introduction of the super-sweet bicolor variety, which has outstanding flavor.  Every now and then we encounter some anomalies:


I'm guessing the one on the left was a little dehydrated (anyone know?), but it tasted fine.  And the one on the right might earn a ribbon at a state fair as the worst phyllotactic defect.  But both tasted fine.

To mark the end of the season, we had a family gathering in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, at which my cousin Karl (back home from Barcelona) incorporated our local corn into an outstanding paella:


I'm sorry to see the season end, but now it's time to start putting the garden to sleep and getting some service done on the snowthrower... 

6 comments:

  1. Have you made corn ribs yet? Gonna love em in the airfryer!

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    1. Not familiar with those. Online pix look like very slender corncobs ?

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    2. I eat my regular sweet corn with a slather of barbeque sauce. Yum-meeee!

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    3. Thanks, Stan. I love your blog! I know you love corn—you've posted several times about it. To make the corn ribs, I break the cob in two, then stand it on end to carefully cut it into four pieces. In a bowl, toss with a little oil, season them, and roast or fry in the airfryer for about 10 minutes. The kernels separate as they cannot on the cob and the individual kernels get crispy and delicious. Try it. The online recipes try to gussy it up but I go for the simple treatment. Thanks again!

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    4. On my list for things to try next season. Thank you.

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  2. Good reminder to start building up my winter supply of frozen corn.
    (Here in NoVA we have a bit more fresh corn time than y'all up north there.)

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