I boil sweet corn for six minutes, how do you prepare it?

[amerikat]

over cooked corn is no fun at all..........roasted has a great taste but screws up the tenderness. Just my experience. So how do you cook sweet corn?

[Tab]

1. I can boil it, but I also have an alternative - on the grill

Heat up the grill

Get rid of the husk and stuff.
Lay out a sheet of aluminum foil.
Put down 4 or 5 pats of butter.
Sprinkle some salt
Lay the corn down
Wrap well with the foil
Wrap again with a second sheet of aluminum foil
(this is because the butter, if it leaks out, will cause the grill to flare up)
Toss on the grill. 20 minutes, whatever.

Some pieces come out just fine.
Others catch some flame and the corn/butter carmelizes.

I personally like the second, others (often kids) prefer the first.

[grasswire]

2. a few weeks ago...

...I had just dropped the corn into boiling water and had to suddenly leave the house to help a neighbor catch her cat, so I turned off the burner and left it. When I came back twenty minutes later, I pulled an ear out and tasted it and it was very very good. So maybe that's an alternate way to cook it. I always add some sugar to the pot of water, too. Never salt the water.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. I never boil it-- just simmer it to...

heat it up, and I don't time it-- when it's ready it's ready. If it's good corn, you don't really have to "cook" it, just tenderize it a little with moderate heat.

Roasting works, too, but I don't do that very often and half the time screw it up if I do.

[eridani]

4. Put the corn into a veggie sieve with water just up to the sieve level

Bring it to a hard boil for two minutes and then turn off the heat to let it steam. Do other meal stuff for 5 or 10 minutes and then it is ready.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. 100% natural and primitive .... grilled in the husk.

We pull off all but a layer or two of the husk. Ideally, you should juuuuuust barely be able to see the individual kernels through the semitransparent inner husk leaves. Pull off what silk you can from the tip.

Toss it on the grill. The husk may catch fire. Just blow it out. If the corn is fresh, there is more than enough moisture in the husk to prevent it from flaming.

When the husk is pretty much charred, its done. We like it when (more than) a few of the kernels are carmelized and golden.

With this method, we usually just peel it and eat it. No salt, no butter. The corn's own sweetness is enough. Grill concentrates the flavor. We've never had it go tough in any way.

[mtnester]

14. Pssttt...butter, lime juice and chili powder go great on grilled corn

I find it WANTS more zing if I am going to put condiments on it.

[Tab]

15. I've never had luck with that, but I did it differently.

Invariably the husk would burn and the corn wouldn't cook, but I always used a full husk. I wondered if I should soak them first and let them effectively steam themselves.

I could try peeling down to just one layer.

I also like the carmelized kernels.

Funny that you never see this in restaurants. I think they're delicious.

[Stinky The Clown]

17. For what its worth, we had terrible luck with full husks, too ......

....until, some years ago, I read about removing all but the last few layers of the husk. I'm not sure, but I **think** I read this in the recipe book that came with one of our (all too many) past gas grills. This is now the only way we cook corn.

By the way, the smell as it is cooking is a great side benefit. It smells incredibly smoky in a nice way. Some of that smell winds up in the corn as taste.

As with any corn on the cob, fresher corn is better.

[DrDan]

28. I use full husks - never a problem

usually on the upper grill - flip it over once

[hippywife]

26. Gonna try this tonight.

We didn't end up doing our grilling last night but will do it tonight. Gonna try this method with the addition that I'm soaking the corn a little first in the water that's still a little hot in the stock pot from doing some strawberry preserve canning earlier. I bought the corn the other day so it was just a tad dry, not too bad, tho. Wish I would have waited until today to buy it at the big farmer's market but didn't know we were going until we were on our way there this morning. Just bought it from a local farm stand nearby.

Thanx for the tips as per usual. :D

[The empressof all]

6. If I boil it I do it for 6 or 7 minutes No More....and

I add a half a cup of milk to the water. It makes the corn sweeter IMO.

I also love to roast or grill it in it's husk. I remove the silk and soak the corn in it's husk for about a half an hour in cool water. Then roast or grill.

[Tab]

7. Milk to the water, huh?

That's interesting. Haven't heard anyone that does that.

What do you think the milk imparts? And where did you get that idea to begin with?

Not being sarcastic, but curious. How do you think the milk contributes?

[The empressof all]

8. My mother did it so I grew up with the milk in the water

Perhaps the lactic acid breaks down the outer layer of the kernel a bit. I think it makes a difference. My SO was skeptical at first when I made corn when we first got together. Now he swears it's his secret trick.

I think the milk makes the corn a bit sweeter and tender.

Try it. I add half a cup to a whole cup of milk--either whole or 2%. I've never tried it with non fat so I can't vouch for that.

Boil for no longer than 7 minutes

Maybe it's a New Jersey thing?

[Tab]

9. Willing to give it a try

My wife likes "whites" (she's part Italian), and "whites" is pasta with milk (instead of sauce).
She also likes ketchup with eggs, so I can't totally vouch for her judgment. I'm lactose intolerant myself, so I can't try "whites", and I dislike both eggs and ketchup. I think milk in the water for corn wouldn't be a problem, I'm just having trouble envisioning how it would work. At the same time, I can't think of how it would hurt, so it's worth a shot.

Milk does have some sugars, and maybe the lactic acid does play a role.

It may be specific to NJ - a lot of things are regional - I've just never heard of it.

Only one way to find out - next time at the store I'll get some corn.

[The empressof all]

11. Oh Noes...... Your wife and I have similar tastes

I love ketchup on my eggs...and my cottage cheese too. Pasta and milk with garlic, basil and parm is one of my favorites.

Let me know if you see a difference in the corn. Get some white corn--It's my favorite

[Tab]

12. I once did a posting about ketchup and eggs

I don't eat eggs myself, but once upon a time in a restaurant I sure cooked a lot of them.

I thought ketchup on eggs was weird, but I did this posting (on DU) and found it was pretty split down the middle, and widely divergent.

People either thought they were the greatest thing on earth, or the combination from hell. I really think it ran 50/50.

Ketchup on cottage cheese, though? I'll have to think about that one...

[Tab]

16. Around here we get the mixed corn usually

I love white corn - very sugary, but here we get "sugar & (something)" - a mix of yellow and white kernels.

I'm sure I can get white somewhere, but I don't believe you should fiddle with corn. I'd rather have a fresh local version, than an ideal thing that's been shipped around for months.

So I can't get white. But I can get the mix locally.

I can only eat so much corn though.

Now, if I could only get some decent watermelon...

[NashVegas]

31. I've Seen People Do That

But can't say it improved the taste :)

I usually toss a spoonful or so of sugar in the water.

[MagickMuffin]

10. I usually cut it off the cob, and make Cream Style Corn

It is sooooo good.

When I used to boil it, I would only let it boil a few minutes. Otherwise it becomes tough and hard.

[pinto]

13. I throw it in boiling water, cover, turn off and walk away.

When I plate the rest of the food, it's done. :shrug: I like white, sweet corn the best this way.

For a neat grilled yellow corn, I soak 'em in the husks in water and lime juice, drain, slide sliced green chilies between husk and cob, tie with twine and grill, as is.

[NMDemDist2]

18. with a bit of sugar in the water, yup, that's the ticket! n/t

[Tab]

20. Well, that coincides with what EmpressOf All said...

She adds milk, but milk contains sugars.

i prefer corn with natural sugars. like pure white, but up here we normally grow a mix of white/yellow.

Reading Bartcop, I'm tempted to go to Oklahoma for some Bixby Corn. Never had it, but it seems to inspire religion.

[Gormy Cuss]

19. Bring the water to a boil, shut off the heat. Drop in the ears.

Let it sit for about 10 minutes (more for bigger ears.)

Either that or grill it: trim off ends and remove silk, then soak the ear in the husk for about an hour. Grill in husk. (I don't know the timing because the SO grills it.)

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

21. Wrap in paper towel and nuke for 4 minutes

Husk corn. Wrap in paper towel (damp) and nuke for 4 minutes

Perfect every time. I think the paper towel is supposed to be damp, but usually I forget to do that and it still comes out great.

This is perfect for someone doing just one ear for themselves.

For doing more than that, I subscribe to the bring the pot up to boil, throw in the ears and turn off burner method

[Mind_your_head]

22. I boil for 5-6 minutes......BUT I just discovered something else that I think is worth sharing

Last time I made corn, I decided to melt some butter for it (instead of just letting people spread pats of butter on their corn). I put a cut-up stick of butter in a little metal one-cup mini-sauce pan that I have and placed it on the upper warming rack of my bbq to melt while I was finishing off the meat I was serving (closed the lid of the bbq).

Wow - that butter had the most wonderful smokey taste when it was poured over the corn! Everyone raved about how good it was...and it WAS really good. That's gonna be my 'method' now when I serve corn and bbq.

[kestrel91316]

23. I just heat it up in the boiling water until it's really hot.

It loses that raw corn feel, but isn't really cooked per se.

[1gobluedem]

24. My sister told me to do it this way

Bring the water to a boil, drop the corn in and shut the burner off. You can leave the corn in there as long as you'd like and it never gets mushy or overcooked. Works like a charm.

[yellowdogintexas]

25. I steam mine in my big steamer. Best corn ever. nt

[DrDan]

27. on the grill - husk and all

wonderful

[Blue Gardener]

29. My old Betty Crocker cookbook method (from 1969)

I've been using this method for years, and the corn is very tender and sweet.

Place corn in enough unsalted cold water to cover. (Salt toughens corn). Add 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to each gallon of water. Heat to boiling; boil uncovered two minutes. Remove from heat; let corn stand about 10 minutes before serving.

[Kali]

30. We bbq with real wood so not sure how this would work with other fuels, but

just before the flames die down we toss the corn on the grill - the outer layers dry and burn off and everything gets pretty hot, then we put them in a big covered pot or over to the side to stay warm - I like the pot better because it keeps that good smokey burnt husk flavor in and then the corn finishes cooking and tastes so good. Peel over the compost pile or in the sink with a couple of towels to protect hands and rub the silks off - butter and salt and YUM!

[elleng]

32. Into boiling water,

three minutes.