A little butter and salt.
I eat it “typewriter” style, but with a twist. I’ll take one ‘normal’ bite to get things going. Then I work across, one row of kernels at a time, using my lower teeth to pull them out of the cob. When I’m done I end up with a perfectly clean cob (no skins left) except on the very ends and the spot where I took my first bite.
Typewriter. A little butter (though I don’t need it). No salt.
I salt the water generously, add a bit of sugar, bring to a boil just till the corn is bright yellow. Butter the whole thing and typewriter, punctuated with occasional ‘mmmmmm’s’.
I stick my fork underneath a column of kernels and pull outward to pry them off the cob. Using this method, I’m able remove all of kernels in about 10 seconds. I don’t have to worry about spraying myself in the eye or getting pieces stuck between my teeth.
If I don’t have a fork, though, I’ll use the typewriter style. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it eaten any other way.
Butter all over (salted butter, but no extra salt), then typewriter or similar.
Typewriter removes the kernels as nearly whole as possible - random bite method tears them and ends up with lots of bits uncomfortably jammed between the teeth.
Grilled–I love the slight burnt edges on some of the corn.
light butter and salt then slice it off the cob with a knife and eat with a fork
Typewriter-style, one row at a time. I pull the kernels out with my lower teeth and leave a perfectly clean cob. My in-laws find this hilariously bizarre.
Typewriter. Butter and salt. (I usually spread the butter on the whole ear, then pour salt on my plate, and roll the cob in it). Using cornholders. Deeeee-lish!
(In fact, we had corn-on-the-cob for dinner. Mmmmm…)
Like a crazed chipmunk. Up, down, left, right, flip to other side . . . maybe QtM, silenus, and my dad have it right: just hack it all off and get it over with.
typewriter. Just had some tonight. I was cooking some Belgian endives in butter and decided to try pan frying the corn afterwards. Dang, I just rolled the corn back and forth in the pan. Worked pretty good. Even salt and peppered it in the pan.
BTW, a little rasberry vinegar wine while stir-frying endives…mmmm like candy.
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Yeaaaaah. I was wondering where all the pepper people were.
I am an Iowan, and don’t know anyone here who doesn’t eat it typewriter fashion. It’s just practical, like plowing a field.
No butter, salt only, typewriter-style.
Butter, salt, pepper, typewriter.
The more interesting question – how do you apply the butter? In my family, we dedicate a stick of butter to corn for the month or so that it’s in season, so we can do a couple of typewriter-twirls of the cob at the top of the middle of the stick. When the u-shaped trough that is created reaches the plate, you push the two ends of the stick together.
Very fast, very efficient – and the combined horror and admiration of those not familiar with this technique is always fun to witness.
Ooooh, I would love to butter it that way! More often than not my family would use tub margarine and a knife…I now use softened butter, and a butter knife, and run a schmear of butter down the length of corn I’m currently working on, then salt.
Don’t forget to run the back of a knife down each row - ‘milk’ the juices and tiny bits of kernel off onto your plate.
Spiral eater here. I wind up with a pretty clean cob, though not perfectly so. We always laugh at Mom–when she finishes eating corn-on-the-cob, it ALWAYS ends up with a box shape–actually somewhat like the shape of a stick of butter. She eats typewriter style, but apparently rotates it in such a way that she leaves some partially chewed kernels on the cob that create the four corner edges running the length of the cob. She doesn’t do it on purpose and can’t really explain it.
Favorite cooking method is brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, wrapped in foil, and cooked on the grill.
Spiral. Used to do typewriter, not sure why or when I changed.
Butter (REAL butter). We brush it on … or roll it in the dedicated butter dish.
SALT!!!
Yum.
Favourite kinds? Peaches & cream is my fave, with Jubilee a close second.
My brother slathers mayonnaise on his for butter.
… sometimes after that random-style, I’ll find corn kernels in the oddest places. One day I looked in the mirror and found some in my eyebrows.
I use my top teeth. Other than that, and the fact that my in-laws are unaware and my blood relations find it soooo amusing our experiences appear simlar.