Pretty much this. I’ve done it at other people’s houses but I never have bread (unless its buns for the burgers) at the same time I serve corn on the cob.
People put butter on corn on the cob? Really?
Many ears of corn-on-the-cob come with a natural, biodegradable handle. And my mother never served it with butter. Instead, we ate it with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
This was how we did it when I was a kid, except with a single stick of butter. Once and done - you didn’t go back for more so sharing germs wasn’t an issue.
Now we just use a knife, then any melts on the plate are available for twirling. Works fine.
Always. I have a low salt tolerance and can take or leave pepper so I never add those, but most people I know use all three.
My wife uses the bread method and corn holders. I use a knife with a pad of butter, and my fingers.
I usually boil my corn on the cob, then when it’s done I drain the water out. Then add salt and butter to the pot of corn cobs. Done!
Recently my husband bought a new set of dishes for us, that came with little corn on the cob dishes. We weren’t so fancy when I was growing up. I never heard of the bread method.
Some people will even “cheat” and sugar the boiling water!
Minnesotan here. I’ve never heard of the bread method until today. We use the corncob butterer as mentioned above. It works like a charm. Before that was invented we used the butter knife method.
A few years ago I was at a BBQ party. They were grilling corn on the cob along with burgers and hotdogs. They had a coffee can that was filled with melted butter. You would dunk your corn in the can with a pair of tongs. Worked great for a big crowd.
For those of you using a knife, try a fork instead. The curvature of the fork’s tines fits the cob better and gives better control of the butter pat while slathering. To the OP, nope, never used bread as a butter delivery device.
Instead of buying butter separated into the standard four quarter little blocks, my dad was able to get the butter as one solid block. It was set in the middle of the table between the four of us. You would just set your hot corn on the cob on top and spin away until it was slathered. The block would soon melt away in the center creating a “cup” that would work even better for the buttering process.
Not me! I love the taste of corn, and butter just makes things messy. My gf actually gets a little angry with me for not bothering with butter.
Bolding mine. What is it about butter that’s been in contact with freshly cooked, clean corn that is off-putting?
Actually I don’t eat corn on the cob on the cob. I cook as usual then cut the corn off the cob, put in a dish with as much butter as I like, then eat. Keeps the corn from getting stuck in between my teeth. Doesn’t anyone else have that problem?
Yes really, it’s a very widespread practice.
I am certain you’ve seen it before.
Yes! And on popcorn, cornbread, corn muffins, and cornmeal pancakes, too! You’re not seriously saying that you’ve never encountered this, right?
If that spooks ya, some (quite a very many) people even put mayonnaise, chile peppers, grated cheese, and lime on their corn on the cob!
We have a separate covered butter dish with a stick of butter specifically for rolling corn cobs on it.
Just personal preference for the appearance of a stick that has had slices taken off the ends, to one that looks “used” in that way. It might end up w/ corn silk or something on it. And desire to keep our butter dish as clean as possible.
Just the next time I pull the butter out, I prefer that it look relatively clean and fresh.
I fully agree, no difference in taste/function. But since, as I said, I see no problem with the “pat on knife/fork” method, I see no benefit to outweigh this admittedly minor negative.
Anyhow, I just bring a stick of butter out with some of the wrapping paper still attached and just butter my corn with the stick. Actually, Here’s a photo of what I do.
This is what my family has done, back to the 50s when I was a kid (probably even earlier than that). I thought everyone did this.