Get the Best Out of Sweet Corn During the Summer Season

Hooray! Hooray! It's corn season again. Being a self proclaimed "foodie" or a gourmet even. This writer tends to associate each season, even each month, with a particular food in its prime. Summer is definitely given over to corn. In some of the Midwestern states such as Nebraska where corn crops are prevalent, the adage of "knee high by the Fourth of July" means that the sweet corn crop is ready by about the first week in August. From then on, everyone makes the stop at their local corn stand a daily event.

Commercially frozen corn kernels are just fine, but don't use frozen corn on the cob, which tends to be rather tasteless and rubbery. In fact, frozen corn kernels are better than inferior and old corn on the cob. But, if you can get it, fresh, local corn with slightly damp, green, tightly closed husks enclosing soft gold silk and perfect, shiny kernels is surely one of summer's special treats. Skip those ears that have dried-out silk and shriveled husks They have been sitting around too long

Far be it from us to tell you that there is any better way to eat sweet corn than fresh from the garden (or the roadside stand), popped into a kettle of boiling water (or the microwave) and then brushed with butter and sprinkled with salt In fact, at least once a summer, we make corn on the cob our main course for supper and allow at least two ears per person Oh, we might add a slice of ham as a side dish, but the corn is definitely the star.

However, being the inveterate fiddlers that we are, we are constantly finding new ways to enjoy the corn of summer, especially the leftovers that we cut from the cob. Corn and black-eyed pea salad is a colorful and filling side dish. Toss in some bits of ham or cooked chicken and you have a delightful main course.

Fried creamed corn is an adaptation of a dish that Melanie has enjoyed for years in a favored place in the mountains of western North Carolina. There it is served as an accompaniment to barbecued brisket or grilled beef steak, but we like it with chicken and pork chops just as well.

One tip before you begin: When cutting uncooked corn from the cob, cut into a shallow bowl, then rub the blunt side of the knife over the cob to extract the corn "milk."