Corn

I'm not a writer, I develop/program call center and ticket tracking software for a living. On the side, I build websites and back-end databases with my wife.  Why am I here, why am I doing this?  Well -- I love food, I love to cook, I love to bake, and I love to eat.

But Dave, you're not professionally trained, why should I listen to you?

Well, I hope you will read what I have to say because it is informative and worth your time.  You don't have to be culinarily trained to talk about food.  I'm going to do my best to hit the ground running, act like I have experience with authoring a blog.  Here goes!

----------------

I love corn

I love corn, I don't know where this near obsession came from, but corn-on-the-cob is one of the few things I can eat faster then my wife.  Fresh sweet corn is the best - grilled, boiled, whatever.  Fresh corn has a very high sugar to starch ratio, and after a few days, the sugars begin to convert to starch -- if you get a large percentage of conversion, the corn just tastes mealy.  You can slow down this process by storing the husk-on corn in the refridgerator.  but use it within 3 days if possible.  If you buy husked corn, plan on using it the day you buy it.

I've become very disappointed with most restaurant corn on the cob.  It's mushy, the cell walls have broken, not worth the effort.  I find that most frozen corn is also like this.  If you want to serve corn, but you cannot find any fresh - go with the canned stuff.

Making corn -- Boiling --

Fill a large pot with water, add 1/4 tsp of sugar for each cob you plan to add to the water.  bring the water to a boil.

When the water is at a rolling boil, add the corn cobs.  Boil for 5 to 7 minutes. Each person likes their corn a certain way. I prefer mine at the five minute mark, my wife likes hers a bit more cooked. You may need to rotate the corn a little while it cooks, as it will all float to the surface.

Making Corn -- Grilling --

This is, by far, the best way to cook corn on the cob.

Some people recommend soaking the husks in water -- this will add a lot of water in the husks, and steam the corn when it cooks.  the water also prevents most of the husk from burning.  I prefer the smoky flavor the lack of water imparts (The husk can be solid black, but the corn will still be protected).

I take my corn, and if possible -- just throw them on the coals, turning often for 5 to 10 minutes.  It will be black on the outside.  black, charred, but if you leave all the husk on, the corn should be nice and golden.