# Corn on the cob - best way to cook? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 7, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450 "2005-07-07T14:03:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/41 "2005-07-08T08:34:17Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > head for Hoopeston, Illinois on Labor Day weekend for the National Sweetcorn Festival. All-you-can-eat free hot buttered sweetcorn all weekend long. And these atheists say there is no heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/42 "2005-07-08T13:37:22Z")
**WhyNot** has it right. As a child, I’d visit my mother’s cousins in Maryland corn country. That’s how they’d do it. There is nothing in the world better than lightly boiled FRESH white corn with butter and salt. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/43 "2005-07-08T13:55:46Z")
If you are going to cook the corn in water, adding salt to the water will tend to make the corn tough; leave it out. Generally, for cooking supermarket corn in water: cover the corn with cold water, bring to boil, boil for two minutes; shut off the heat and let the corn sit for ten minutes. Drain well, then butter, salt, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/44 "2005-07-08T20:14:00Z")
> [@Oslo Ostragoth](#): > > **20 minutes?!?!?!?!?** > > I am tending a rather large plot of sweet corn, looking forward to the first few ears in 7-10 days. I knows my corn. 7 minutes is more like it. If you have to cook 20 minutes, the corn was ruined by a too-long trip from stalk to stove, and can’t be rescued by a long cooking time. Consider me chastised! I swear I wil never cook it that long again. (It was the way my mama taught me!) ---
**Author:** ![Ex\_Machina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/45 "2005-07-08T22:45:07Z")
Rub the ear with butter and sprinkle with dried sweet basil. Then wrap in foil and bake. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/46 "2005-07-08T22:47:26Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Generally, for cooking supermarket corn in water: cover the corn with cold water, bring to boil, boil for two minutes; shut off the heat and let the corn sit for ten minutes. Drain well, then butter, salt, etc. The corn always seems to have less flavor when I do that. That’s why I prefer to wait until the water is boiling before I put it in. This is only my personal observation. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/47 "2005-07-09T03:34:29Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > 1. Eat with salt, pepper, butter, cayenne, paprika, cream cheese, cheez whiz, sugar or mayonaise (yes, really. I learned those last six from the amazing corn the Mexican vendors sell on the street around here.) Yeah they also put chili on it. In Colombia guys on the street sell you green mango (unripened) with chili and lime. Then they feed the mango peels to the mules that haul junk. If the corn is good, you can eat it plain, too. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/48 "2005-07-09T04:23:14Z")
[bit of a hijack] How do you recognize good corn at the grocery store? Kernel size? Color? Firmness? Does tasting it help? … Thanks [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2005, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/49 "2005-07-09T06:31:26Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > [bit of a hijack] > How do you recognize good corn at the grocery store? Kernel size? Color? Firmness? Does tasting it help? … Thanks > [/hijack] A good ear of corn is filled out almost all the way to the tip with kernels. The kernels should feel plump and firm, but not hard. The silk should still be fresh and not dry near where it enters the husk. It should smell fresh and green and sweet. You can try peeling back a bit of the husk to get a look at the kernels, but what color they should be depends on the type; they range from off-white to golden yellow. Tasting it strikes me as a bit gauche, like eating out of the open bins of nuts. I wouldn’t want to consume any pesticides sprayed on it, either. Just a few more weeks 'til the sweet corn’s ready. A pox on all raccoons who savage the field. Mmm, peaches’n’cream . . . ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2005, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/50 "2005-07-09T10:18:09Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Yeah they also put chili on it. In Colombia guys on the street sell you green mango (unripened) with chili and lime. Then they feed the mango peels to the mules that haul junk. > > If the corn is good, you can eat it plain, too. :smack: Chili! That’s the mystery ingredient! Thankyouthankyouthankyou! _Revises notes: [del]Cayenne[/del] Chili._ ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/51 "2005-07-10T21:10:17Z")
Okay, someone started a thread about artichokes wherein they mentioned they were trying the “Nero Wolfe” method, and I for one want to know how it turned out. I think 40 minutes would burn it. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/52 "2005-07-11T04:12:46Z")
> [@Oslo Ostragoth](#): > > To all those who wonder, Alton Brown has a [method](http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Season2/Corn/CornTranscript.htm) for preserving corn on the cob: > > \*If you’re looking for more time, though, you’re going to have to take a cue from food scientists over at the University of Maryland who’ve actually figured out that you can hold corn at it’s peak of flavor for up to 2 weeks if you shuck it and give it 15 minute ice water bath laced with 1 drop of lemon juice and 2 drops, believe it or not, of Clorox bleach (per gallon of water). Turns out that the bleach/citrus Mickey lowers the water’s PH just enough to inhibit both microbial and enzymatic action in the corn. > Post bath just seal it up in a freezer bag and put it back in the coldest part of your fridge. \* By the way, anybody know how many drops of a water-like substance there are in a teaspoon? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/53 "2005-07-11T10:36:47Z")
> [@Oslo Ostragoth](#): > > By the way, anybody know how many drops of a water-like substance there are in a teaspoon? US teaspoon or UK teaspoon? US: 96 UK: 69 ---
**Author:** ![parthenokinesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@parthenokinesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parthenokinesis)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/54 "2005-07-11T11:40:08Z")
I’m surprised all the people touting the joys of fresh picked corn have failed to mention the best part of self picking. Eating the first one raw on the way back to the kitchen. As a kid on my grandparents farm, I got to do this a couple times a year, and it’s marvelous. Also raw sweet peas as you’re shelling a bunch. Yumm ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/55 "2005-07-11T12:00:18Z")
Did a taste-test last night, and I’m sorry to report Mr. Nero Woolfe is wrong. I had two ears of corn. One was over-roasted in the husk for 40 minutes at 500[sup]o[/sup], the other was soaked in the husk in cold water for 10 minutes tossed on a _very_ hot (550[sup]o[/sup]) plus) grill for 10 minutes as closely to the fire as I could manage. A taste test showed that the grilled ear of corn was sweeter and…juicier(?) than the oven-roasted one was just barely overcooked, and was starting to get leathery–40 minutes is _way_ too long. Maybe, _maybe_ 20-25 minutes, tops. Either method, though was better than boiling, although the oven method would be better if cooked shorter. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/56 "2005-07-11T15:11:29Z")
I just fixed some KILLEr corn yesterday ; I got the grill fired up good and hot , peeled the husks back and removed the silk , then smeared it with butter , nd sprinkled a little salt on . Pepper would work if you like it , which I don’t . I pulled the husk back up and tossed it on the grill . I also grilled cabbage wedges for the first time at the reccomendation of a friend ,and they were yummy , too . I made a little ‘boat’ out of foil , put the wedges in , put some minced garlic over them , salt & butter , and sat the foil over the coals & let it cook for about 45 min . Delish !! Any other grilled veggie ideas ? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/57 "2005-07-11T15:19:19Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > Any other grilled veggie ideas ? Grilled zucchini or yellow summer squash is good. Brush with olive oil, season with garlic powder, salt, pepper or any seasoned salt you like. Grill quickly directly on the grill over a hot fire until tender and partially carmelized. Good stuff! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/58 "2005-07-11T15:46:10Z")
> [@parthenokinesis](#): > > I’m surprised all the people touting the joys of fresh picked corn have failed to mention the best part of self picking. Eating the first one raw on the way back to the kitchen. As a kid on my grandparents farm, I got to do this a couple times a year, and it’s marvelous. Also raw sweet peas as you’re shelling a bunch. Yumm psst! ixnay on the eatingay awray! If you spill all our secrets, the townies will want to pick the corn while \*we \*sit by the boiling pot of water! 😃 > [@PapSett](#): > > Any other grilled veggie ideas ? I’m sure you know about red bell peppers, right? Set 'em right above the flames (licking flames are ok) until black and “ruined” looking. Then wrap 'em in plastic wrap - they peel themselves!) ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/59 "2005-07-12T04:01:40Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > US teaspoon or UK teaspoon? > > US: 96 > UK: 69 Wow. That seems way too many to me. [Off to find an eyedropper and teaspoon.] ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450/60 "2005-07-12T04:12:46Z")
> [@Oslo Ostragoth](#): > > Wow. That seems way too many to me. > > [Off to find an eyedropper and teaspoon.] No hands-on research, but I found 2 sources that say 1 US tsp = 60 drops. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-on-the-cob-best-way-to-cook/311450.md?page=4)