Location: Home > food > Cold, raw, plain, corn on the cob?
Cold, raw, plain, corn on the cob?Posted Aug 14th 2007 4:41PM by Jonathan M. ForesterFiled under: Vegetables, Spirit of Summer, Comfort FoodI have to say that I am a fan of my fellow blogger Marisa's writing. My good friend Risa (short for Marisa as well), absolutely gushes over some of the things Marisa writes as well, and feels that they must be kindred spirits. Anyway, Marisa just wrote about the joy of hot, buttered, corn on the cob. I love corn as well. A Lot. And so this sparked my interest and got me thinking about the delight of corn and how we eat it.Hot, buttered, corn on the cob used to be one of my favorites, but something happened that changed me forever. There is a local farm stand here in mid-coast Maine called Beth's, and Beth sells some of the sweetest corn I have ever had. What is even better is that it is picked fresh every morning, is still cool from the night air, and often has juice dripping from the broken end of the cob. It's that fresh.One summer morning years ago, I drove to the farm and waited anxiously for them to open at 8am, so I could load up on corn before they sold out for the day. I was in my car, about to head back to the lakeside cottage we rented for the summer, and decided to first take a look at the corn. I pulled back the firm leaves and silk and saw this super ripe and fresh corn and stuck my thumb into the firm, crisp kernels. They suddenly popped, splashing me with the juice. I stuck my thumb in my mouth to taste it, and it was sublime. As sweet as candy and full of corny good flavor.I instinctively took a bite of the cool, raw, plain corn. And then another. Soon I had greedily gobbled down the whole ear. It was the best tasting corn I have ever had. Right there in the parking lot I tore through six ears. There was a mild breeze and corn silk was flying all over the place. I was wearing it, it was in my hair, and the car was full of the stuff. But I just didn't care. The corn was soooo good! Since that day I rarely cook my corn and prefer to eat it raw. Decent corn tastes good this way and good corn even better. But it is when you get some really fresh, super sweet corn, that you have a real treat. Then the taste is amazing. I have tried to turn some of my friends on to this whenever they joined me in Maine for a summer vacation. Fellow blogger Joe has been through the initiation of eating raw corn in my car, with the silk flying all over the place, on more than one occasion.If I do cook it, then I do so for a very short time. I bring a pot of water to a boil. Plain, no salt, and I turn off the heat. Then I drop the shucked cobs into the water and let them sit for only one minute. This barely cooks the corn, but does heat it up. Then I grab one of those super crispy cobs and devour it, absolutely plain. I disdain to eat starchy, old, boring corn anymore. I would rather go without. The only time I really cook corn is when it is mediocre. then I salvage it by grilling in the un-shucked husk on the grill over hardwood coals until the outside is all charred. Then using paper towels to keep my hands from blistering I peel back the husk and silk and use it to form a handle. Then I slather the ear with mayo, Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, and a nice douse of cayenne, and dig in.So what do you think? Does anyone else like their corn raw? Plain? Unadulterated? Or is it just me?
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