What if the sweet corn isn't sweet?

[Love Bug]

I bought some bi-color sweet corn from the farmer's market last week and when I cooked it, it wasn't sweet at all. In fact, it didn't seem to have much flavor. I would just chalk it up to bad luck if a friend of mine didn't have the very same experience. Up until the beginning of August we've been having an unusually cool (70s) summer. Would that be the cause?

[Tesha]

1. well

When freshly picked, sweet corn is high in sugar and low in starch. However, the longer it sits after picking, the more that balance shifts toward starches. This mutes the flavor and affects it's texture when cooked.

If I have any doubts I just add a little sugar to the cooking water...

[Warpy]

2. I second the sugar in the water

unless the water is boiling while you pick it off the stalk in the back yard.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. Luck of the draw -

we got some terrific sweet corn earlier in the summer, at the market - grown in Florida. It was shockingly good.

Last week, we got some that wasn't very good, but a neighbor reminded me that our local corn doesn't come in until August.

If it's not good, nothing can make it good. I think it's just the luck of the draw.

My friend bought a beautiful watermelon from a roadside stand - just glorious, grown by a lovely old man. It had not taste.

I bought some locally-grown cantaloupes, wanting to support all things local. No taste. They both got tossed.

Maybe things just aren't very good this season? All that rain has, I know, affected the local tomatoes and potatoes........................

[The empressof all]

4. It really is just luck and freshness but...

I have found that if I add about a half a cup of milk to the water it helps to draw out the sweetness. I haven't a clue why...maybe the milk sugars or the lactic acid...But try it...You'll taste a difference

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Every ear we've had for the last two years has been - at the very least - edible

We grill the corn in the husk. Just peel it back until you can see the kernels through a few layers of husk. Grill it until the husk is well charred. It often catches fire near the end. A little carmelization on the kernels tells you it is done. This seems to concentrate the flavor by eliminating excess moisture that can dilute whatever sugar is in the ear.

When done they look like this on the outside:



And like this on the inside:



We eat it completely unadorned ..... no butter, no salt, no nothing. It is always *that* good.

[Tesha]

6. I've tried grilling corn a couple ot times..

but the corn always gets concentrated, drier, and the darned kernels stick to my teeth!

I love the steamed in a pressure cooker or boiled - in fact I usually add some Old Bay crab boil seasoning along with a spoonful of sugar (even if I'm not making a crab boil).

mmmm, local corn is just now coming in here... getting some tomorrow.

[DrDan]

9. it is the only way we do corn at our house

except I like to add fresh-ground pepper - nothing else

[buzzycrumbhunger]

10. We always soak ours a bit before grilling

. . . or at least run them under the tap to get some water inside (it's easy if you've opened it up to take out most of the silks first, then close it back up). Helps to steam the corn as well as grill it, so it's usually still tender, even if you overdo it. I can't say I ever let it go so long that it was that black, which I suspect is because it has enough moisture to hang in there against the flames--or maybe because we move it up to the top rack after it looks good.

Otherwise, I always steam my corn so the nutrients don't go down the drain. My gran used to swear by a bit of sugar in the water if you're boiling, though.

As for FL sweet corn? That was a big shock when were moved here a couple decades ago. The best corn is around March and April (after strawberry season) and is almost as good as what I grew up with in IA. I have to say that this year has not been a banner year for anything, though. I think the weather is just too messed us everywhere--though I see my citrus have more fruit than ever (it has to hang in there until Easter, and winters have been really dry lately). We normally have a long period where everyone's selling corn for like 20 ears/$1, and this year there was only one week where we got 10/$1; otherwise, it's been way overpriced at 2-3 ears/$1 or so. Very sad because I always look forward to eating it until I'm sick of corn, and it didn't happen this year.

[grasswire]

7. I always put sugar in corn water

Cuz I never get any same-day corn.

Even so, some corn is just lousy despite its looks.

[Warpy]

8. Even crappy corn tastes pretty good with

Barbara Tropp's Szechuan pepper salt.

Toast a tablespoon full of Szechuan peppercorns and a half cup of Kosher salt in a dry skillet. Remove from heat when it's fragrant and the salt has absorbed some of the oils and turned a very slightly darker color. Let cool and buzz in a blender until powdered.

This stuff is so great on corn you'll never miss the butter...or the sweetness.

[tigereye]

11. all of the corn I've had this summer has been very sweet

except for the stuff from the organic community share market- that was sort of earthy - like corn used to taste when I was a kid in the 60s.

[NashVegas]

12. Try Different Farmers, Too

I'm lucky to have found an individual farmer's market where the corn is always reliably good.

Shop around some.

[ginnyinWI]

13. look at the ear where it's been broken off the stalk.

That will tell you how long it since it's been picked. The older the more starchy or even gluey it tastes. Yuck--not worth the calories.

And if you find a good vendor, stick with them for reliable quality.