Unique Corn Toppings

You don't always have to fight over the butter dish because everyone wants to put a pat on before the kernels are cold. There are plenty of different ways to deliver some extra flavor to your cob if you'll just get a little creative.

First, finely grated cheeses are one of the easiest ways to do something a little different. Try Parmesan, gouda, blue cheese or even goat cheese. Make your own blend of grated cheeses or add in spices to make your cheese topping really unique. Put several ramekins out with small spoons on the table so everyone can sprinkle their corn while it's still hot.

You can also prepare the actual dishes made especially to hold corn on cob in advance. Melt some butter and then pour it into the cob dishes, then place the dishes in the fridge. The butter will re-solidify. When you take the dishes out and place the corn in them, your guests can simply roll their corn in the dishes and the butter will melt and evenly distribute amongst the delicious kernels. This is just so much easier than fighting with hard butter at the table. You can mix herbs and spices in with the butter before it solidifies to give it that extra special something.

Spray bottles are also a fun way to deliver flavor to your cob. Worcestershire, Teriyaki and soy sauce are all great alts to the standard butter. Make sure you test your spray bottle before bringing it to the table. Also, make sure the bottle is for use with food.

Those of a barbecue bent can use barbecue sauce or chili as a picnic topping as well. Some picnickers like to add ranch dressing to their cob.

Dip seasoning, such as ranch or onion dip seasoning can be good ready-made topping to add to buttered corn. Just make sure you don't add too much, since the flavors can be intense.

As long as you don't mind getting messy and you like the taste, almost any type of sauce will do as a topping for corn. A basic pesto is a fabulous choice. Add sun-dried tomatoes to it for something a little different. If you're really adventurous, there's always satay sauce.

For corn with a bit of a bite, there's always wasabi butter, or a melted butter with a little hot sauce or horseradish added to it.

Whatever you decide to try, remember that it's all a matter of taste. Get creative and experiment!