best way to clean corn from the cob?
Posted by nutdragon on Jul 14, 2008 · Member since Aug 2006 · 807 posts
Will is getting sick of picking corn out of his teeth and has asked for corn off the cob next time. I have never done this. Is it better to cook it first or cut it off raw? Any other tips?
Do it raw .... get a mixing bowl. Put the cob in the center and use a pairing knife (or regular knife, whatever) and cut as close to the cob as you can. All the corn will fall into your bowl.
Be sure to cut one extra because corn is SO DELICIOUS fresh off the cob, uncooked. I alwyas can't help but eat some!
Sweet! Thanks, Secondbase!
Mmmm, nothing like some raw sweet corn fresh from the farmer's market!
Yes, I was gonna say use your teeth.
You can do it cooked or raw. Either way, put your ear of corn broad end down (better base) in a dish, slice down with a sharp knife, and THEN scrape the cob "against the grain" with the back of the knife so you get the heart of the kernel, which is the sweetest, tastiest part.
You can use the cut-off corn to make relish, fritters, creamed corn, corn pudding....yumbles.
Don't forget to make really good summer veggie stock with the leftover cobs!
??? Never thought of adding the leftover cobs....good idea!
Don't forget to make really good summer veggie stock with the leftover cobs!
??? Never thought of adding the leftover cobs....good idea!
It IS a good idea! I remember as a kid we grew our own sweetcorn and my mom would boil it. I always bit into the cob and sucked the "juice" out and got scolded for being stupid.
Then, when I was in highschool, we read Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe story, "Murder is Corny" in which he explains how to oven-roast corn in the husk. We never boiled corn again!
Don't forget to make really good summer veggie stock with the leftover cobs!
??? Never thought of adding the leftover cobs....good idea!
I can't take credit - I read it in V-Con. ;)b
Yeah, I made that delicious corn chowder and every time I make veggie stock now I use corn cobs. If nothing else it's an excuse to eat raw, fresh corn
I love corn! In old canning cookbooks (1950s, 1960s) I periodically find recipes for "corn honey" which is essentially a jelly made by boiling the cleaned, scraped fresh cobs and then sweetening/setting the resulting extract. Someday I am going to try it. I always find myself gnawing the stem end of my ear of corn just for that sugarcane effect-- so sweet, so yummy. (Don't bite it off though, because it's also so fibrous).
In Peru they make humitas and tamales by putting the cleaned, scraped fresh cobs down on the bottom of a deep pot with a lid, filling to part way up the stack of cobs, and simmering the water to make an impromptu steamer. The aroma of the corn steam is heavenly (and that's with Peruvian corn, which isn't the same as sweetcorn -- I have always wanted to try this with sweetcorn to get that wonderful honeyed aroma).
Humitas are like tamales made just of the corn (seasoned with salt, onion, garlic and mild yellow chiles, but without a filling). If you cut it off the cob, puree it, and stir-fry the puree in a little vegetable or olive oil, then pack it into fresh husks and tie it closed, and steam the little packets for about an hour, you will have a treat.
I have found that putting a small bowl upside down in the big bowl helps elevate the end of the cob to facilitate cutting off the kernels. Sure you dirty two bowls but you do not run the risk of tipping your bowl over with your arm when you slice down.
Don't forget to make really good summer veggie stock with the leftover cobs!
Great idea, but I'll have to try it next time. Those things make the best doggie bones!
BTW, thanks guys, that was way easier that I expected. I've always bought it frozen if I needed kernels, because I assumed it would be a major PIA. Nope, not at all.
Sweet! Veggie dogbonz! ;)b