# How do you prepare sweetcorn on the cob? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [May 14, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042 "2023-05-14T22:04:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/61 "2023-05-15T16:22:42Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > That’s what you get for contributing to Road Blight. Signs and fences won’t stop people from doing this. I can understand the temptation, I was once a child. Signs and fences won’t stop it. Neither will enforcement, harsh punishment for stealing a few ears of corn won’t fly. Could you tell me again about the part of farming that doesn’t suck? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/62 "2023-05-15T16:32:49Z")
I believe field corn is also what’s used for corn meal. But yeah, animal feed and HFCS is what it’s mostly grown for. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/63 "2023-05-15T17:15:42Z")
Don’t forget ethanol. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/64 "2023-05-15T17:24:55Z")
Several folks have talked about steaming them. That’s my go-to method. I have a tall pot designed for cooking asparagus. e.g.: > **[RSVP Endurance Asparagus Steamer](https://chefscornerstore.com/rsvp-endurance-asparagus-steamer)** > > The RSVP Endurance Asparagus Steamer is designed to cook asparagus perfectly, from stem to tip. The basket insert holds asparagus stalks upright. It’s awesome for cob corn too. De-stalk, shuck, & de-silk up to 4 ears, place them stalk end down in the steaming basket with ~1/2"-3/4" water & steam 10-15 minutes. The goal is no more than the bottom row or two of kernels in the water, and ideally none. The more or beefier the ears, the longer it takes. For 4 big ears it can be touch and go whether you’ll boil the pot dry before they’re quite ready, so adding ~1/2c of hot water after about 7-10 minutes is a useful precaution. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/65 "2023-05-15T17:31:15Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Could you tell me again about the part of farming that doesn’t suck? Being my own boss, being outdoors much of the time, using both my mind and my body, having a wide variety of things to do in any given week, the smell of healthy soil and the feel of it on my hands, the taste of my fresh produce sometimes eaten right in the field, the sound of the birds, the millions of colors of green, the look of the lake in the distance, the look on the face of a very small child who’s just tasting their first real strawberry? > [@TriPolar](#): > > I can understand the temptation, I was once a child. The problem’s rarely children. The one time I saw children stealing grapes back when I managed a vineyard with a road blight problem, they’d been put out of the car by the adults with them with instructions to do exactly that. The adults got really pissed off when I told them they were teaching their children to be thieves. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I believe field corn is also what’s used for corn meal. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Field corn (the term, at least around here, for corn grown for livestock feed **or for grinding corn** Bolded, this time. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/66 "2023-05-15T17:51:27Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Don’t forget ethanol. Bourbon for the win! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/67 "2023-05-15T17:52:53Z")
Shuck them, rub them with butter or margarine, wrap them in foil, and toss them on the barbie. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/68 "2023-05-15T17:57:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Anything other than butter, though, and maybe a little bit of salt, detracts from the simplicity that is part of the essential nature of the dish. Agreed. We’ve started broiling our corn. About 7 or 8 minutes? I can eat corn on the cob with other acoutrements, but that’s like eating something completely different. If I want “corn on the cob” I just want butter and salt. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Decades ago, I saw the Matthew Broderick movie Wargames in the theater and in that, I saw a character butter corn on the cob by heavily buttering a piece of untoasted sliced bread and then use that to transfer the butter to the corn. That was a new technique to me. (Though, as I said, my preference is to use lemon juice, salt and black pepper on corn.) I thought you were going to mention that the mom served the corn raw! Also, that character bugged me because she called BBQ Barbercue. > [@Railer13](#): > > Related story: during WWII, there was a German POW camp about 15 miles from my Grandpa’s farm, and he hired a few of them for farm help during the summer. They refused to eat sweet corn, calling it pig food. There was an exchange student (from where I don’t remember) when I was a sophomore in high school who had the same reaction. Corn on the cob was only for animals! ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/69 "2023-05-15T18:19:03Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > My father’s legendary method (which he never used) was to bring the pot of water out to the garden, shuck the corn and dip it into the water while still on the plant. That was described in the MASH finale: > [Maj. Margaret Houlihan](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0842794/?ref_=tt_ch) : How about you, Colonel - what’s the first thing you want when you get home? > > [Col. Potter](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0604702/?ref_=tt_ch) : Well, I like fresh corn. I mean real fresh corn. So I think maybe I’ll just take a hot plate out to the garden, make a pot of boiling water, then I won’t even pick that corn - I’ll bend that stalk till the ear dips into the water, and I’ll eat it right there standing up. Scrumptious! My technique: put shucked ears into a pot of cold water, heat until it just boils, remove from heat and cover. About 5 minutes and it’s ready, but can leave in the water longer (I’ve left ears in the hot but cooling water until it’s time for seconds). ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/70 "2023-05-15T18:21:29Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I bring the water to a boil, throw the husked corn in, turn the heat back off and leave the corn in the pot for maybe 2 minutes at the outside. > > Usually butter on it; but sometimes nothing. I’m with you. Bring a pot of water to the boil, and throw the husked corn in, go to the microwave and set the time for a minute, and you’re done. Probably cooks for a minute and a half. Butter, salt and pepper on it. We got some (not very good, alas) corn four for a dollar last week. Looking forward to better corn on the way. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/71 "2023-05-15T18:38:55Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > The problem’s rarely children. The one time I saw children stealing grapes back when I managed a vineyard with a road blight problem, they’d been put out of the car by the adults with them with instructions to do exactly that. > > The adults got really pissed off when I told them they were teaching their children to be thieves. That is the subtext I was going for. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/72 "2023-05-15T18:39:50Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > My technique: put shucked ears into a pot of cold water, heat until it just boils, remove from heat and cover. About 5 minutes and it’s ready, but can leave in the water longer (I’ve left ears in the hot but cooling water until it’s time for seconds). I am also in the “shucked (and washed) ears in a pot of cold water, then heat uncovered until it boils” camp, but I haven’t tried taking it off the heat and covering for 5 minutes. However, I am always looking for a decent broiler recipe. Some of the best corn I have had was from a Mexican takeout place where they grilled the corn, but where I live, even BBQs are out of the question. I have tried wrapping in foil and then baking, but it’s not quite there. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/73 "2023-05-15T19:19:49Z")
I don’t wrap them. I just put them naked on a foil lined cookie sheet and put it under the broiler. For about ten minutes? I don’t know the exact time, because I just watch it like a hawk – it can burn on the turn of a dime. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/74 "2023-05-15T19:34:09Z")
I know someone who roasts them on an electric stovetop though she puts a cooling rack on top of the burner ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/75 "2023-05-15T21:06:07Z")
The answer I always give to this is that Nero Wolfe’s recipe is the pinnacle: > “Shucked and boiled in water, sweet corn is edible and nutritious; roasted in the husk in the hottest possible oven for forty minutes, shucked at the table, and buttered and salted, nothing else, it is ambrosia.” It takes a lot longer than boiling, but let me tell you, Wolfe (or Rex Stout if you prefer) is correct. To add some detail to that recipe, I soak the corn in the husks for about 15 minutes ahead of time, while the oven heats up to 450. And I flip the ears over halfway through. That’s it. You will never eat a tastier ear of corn. It is _absolutely_ worth the time. The only problem: you’ll never want to do the easier boiling method ever again. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/76 "2023-05-15T21:09:22Z")
How is the flavor different? ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/77 "2023-05-16T00:05:29Z")
I’d say the flavor is more complex: the husks brown in the oven, imparting a little smoky flavor, but subtle. But the bigger difference is the texture. Done this way, the kernels are crisp and delicate - you barely bite in and they just explode with flavor. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/78 "2023-05-16T13:48:11Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > I shuck and de-silk the cobs, wrap them in damp paper towels, and microwave them. Four minutes for one ear, seven minutes for two. This is how I do it. So much quicker than waiting for a pot of water to come to a boil. I like lots of butter and salt on mine. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/79 "2023-05-16T15:09:21Z")
If the corn is fresh and sweet I shuck it and boil it for three minutes, no longer, in rapidly boiling water. Or wrap each ear in a damp paper towel and cook in the microwave for three minutes. Butter, salt, pepper. Old Bay, chili powder, parmesan, garlic powder, Italian seasoning are optional. ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042/80 "2023-05-16T20:35:56Z")
Mrs. D is the corn eater in the family, I make it for her because I kinda like her 😉 Mentioned the microwave-in-the-husk method to her, she said she’d tried it, didn’t work for her. Worked for me last night, perfectly cooked corn, had to take maybe 4 silks off. She loved it, I’ll never boil water for corn again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-sweetcorn-on-the-cob/984042.md?page=5)