What's Fresh - Corn

Boiling –
Like pasta, use plenty of water. Unlike pasta, do not add salt to the water as it toughens the kernel. Works similar to beans in that the skin toughens up and proper cooking does not take place.

Cook in rapidly boiling water for until tender – about 6 minutes – remove from water, add fine sea salt and butter.

You can also cool the cobs, cut off the kernels and make corn salsa by adding sea salt, limejuice, cilantro, minced onion and both roasted and fresh green chilies. Try grilled corn for the salsa as well.

Sautéing –
Start by cutting the kernels off the cob in a careful manner. Be careful not to cut too deep, but you will want to still get the maximum sized cut without hitting the cob. As it can be messy, use your largest cutting board, consider breaking the cob in half to keep it close to the board or tilt the cob down. We also line up the cobs to be cut and just cut around the edge of the board. Scrape each cob with the back of a knife to get all extra corn pulp and milk out.

Start with a hot pan filled with some fat of your choice – butter and pork fat being better options than oil. If you like garlic, add it now and then remove it from the fat before it browns. At this point add in whatever flavor profile you would like the finished dish to have. It can be anything from as simple as minced shallots in order to show off the corn flavor to forming a complex, homemade base for curry. A mainstay in the kitchen here is a simple version with garliced-up butter, shallots, minced red jalapeno and a bit of tomato – sometimes fresh oven dried ones. Other flavors that would go well in the simpler version of this dish are bacon, marjoram, parsley, tarragon, chanterelle or shitake mushrooms, and zucchini. Once the starting flavors have cooked a bit go to medium-high heat, add in the cut kernels, toss through and let set for 2 minutes. Add in water a tablespoon at a time and begin to stir a few times per minute. This will help steam cook the corn and make for moist kernels. Never let the dish get watery you want to cook till the pan is just dry about 1-4 minutes later. Total cooking time can be as little as 3 minutes and as long as 6 minutes or so. Keep tasting – another reason to buy extra – and find out just where you like your corn cooked.

You can use the simple cooked version of the corn sauté to toss in a salad, over pasta or as a base for simple grilled white fish or shrimp.

Grilling –
For grilling corn take the whole bag of corn to the outdoors and shuck it down to the last bit of husk. You will want to leave the last layer of husk on to serve as insulation for the cob in order to prevent burning. Soak in water for 30 minutes to moisturize the cob. Grill over medium to medium-high heat turning frequently to get a very good char without burning it to a crisp. You will be able to almost see through this last layer of husk to judge doneness. Once cooked, shuck remaining layer, add fine sea salt and butter, then enjoy. If you would, like to go for something more advanced once the corn is off the grill, visit here for numerous recipes for composed/compound butters and a recipe for Mexican grilled corn – be sure to use the crema and cojita cheese as opposed to the alternates offered.