They’ll grab a head of lettuce or broccoli without even looking at it, but when they get within three yards of the sweet corn, their heart rate goes up, their pupils narrow, and their breathing slows as they circle the bin as if it is full of cobra/piranhas hiding beneath the corn husks.
I haven’t encountered a bug in my corn since the 1980’s (and that was from a roadside stand) but today’s shopper needs to examine each ear in minute detail. They pull off all the husk and silk and reject 75% of them for reasons known only to themselves.
I was just at the store and just grabbed the largest ears (5 for $1) and shoved them in my bag. One woman was holding a perfect yellow ear with the kernels as straight and uniform as a supermodel’s teeth, but threw it back for some reason. I grabbed it and was met with looks of shock and disdain. “Didn’t you see that ear was rejected?!” “How can you possible take an ear of corn that was rejected by another random shopper?”
I finished my shopping and realized I forgot something and had to walk back through the produce section, and ten minutes later the same women were still tearing apart the ears looking for …something?
I’d say about 5% of sweet corn I’ve purchased with husk still on has had those worm/caterpillar things in them when I took them home (I only buy it every couple years so that isn’t a huge sample size). So, if I can, I look first. But I don’t completely husk it, I just pull it back enough to get a look. If they’re hiding better than that, I’ll take the risk.
You can get an idea if the corn is ripe by looking at the kernels. If an ear of corn has small, undeveloped kernels at the end, then it’s probably not going to be any good.
I’ve never seen a worm in corn, but I have seen unripe ears.
However, you only have to look at the tip to check them out. People who take off the entire husk don’t know what they’re looking for (though I’ve rarely seen any cases of that; the few I’ve seen do it always ended up buying the ear).
I find worms all the time. And ears without many kernels. One of the stores I frequent strips most of the husk off for you so you can see what you’re getting.
I haven’t found many worms, but ears without well formed kernels or with browned/squashed/rotted kernels is definitely a thing I am concerned about in selecting corn. That’s happened to me lots of times.
Separately from this issue, many people prefer to husk at the store because it can make an almighty mess, especially if there are young kids around to spread cornsilk all over the house.
I come from a place where ears of corn are a whole meal. We throw 12-24 out there and everyone eats them as dinner with nothing else. Maybe bread.
Any one batch of corn will be good or bad. If you know you’ve got a “batch” at the store–a whole lot of ears picked at the same time, same place–then you just check a couple to see how they are and then fill your basket.
A worm might be in one, or two, but you just cut that out when you cook them.
–Daughter of Appalachia
Seriously, if that is a problem for you, maybe you should stick to canned corn. The canned corn may actually (probably) be a lot worse, but at least you can’t see it!
I’ll pull a husk back far enough to check for over ripeness. I’ve never seen people shuck whole ears at the store (or roadside stand or wherever). Occasional larvae? Those just show it’s good to eat-
You can check corn for “ripeness” without striping the husk. Feel the end of the ear through the husks. If it is pointed, it isn’t a fully developed ear. If it’s blunt, you’re good.
I just give it a squeeze at the fattest part and a pinch at the tip, as the actress said to the bishop. You can feel through the husk if the kernels at the end are shriveled or juicy; no need to waste time husking or smear the germs from your fingers all over the bare ear.
