# Why Are People so OCD About Their Sweet Corn at the Grocery Store? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 29, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365 "2014-07-29T22:26:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/21 "2014-07-30T01:12:38Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Yeah, for me it’s checking for pollination failure and kernel abortion. Which looks like [this](https://www.pioneer.com/multimedia/imgGalleries/cropTour/0812_lackore1.jpg). For the life of me, I can’t see anything wrong with the corn in that picture. Just cut off the unfilled ends and eat the rest. Looks like perfectly good corn to me. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/22 "2014-07-30T01:57:59Z")
I buy my sweet corn at the farmer’s market or roadside stands. Most of the vendors at the market hav a barrel for shucking so you don’t hav to make a mess at home if you don’t want to. When I but, I check the ends for ripeness, worms and smut. There are occasional rejects. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/23 "2014-07-30T02:46:12Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > For the life of me, I can’t see anything wrong with the corn in that picture. Just cut off the unfilled ends and eat the rest. Looks like perfectly good corn to me. Why go through the waste when you might find a full, well-developed cob? ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/24 "2014-07-30T03:10:53Z")
Another good policy at the farmer’s stand is they give you 14 or 15 ears for the price of a dozen, just in case one or two are less than perfect. They’ll pull back the husks a bit for you to check if you want, but usually if one is ripe, the rest in the back of the pickup will also be good. That’s why I don’t buy corn at the grocery store if there’s a farmer stand open close by. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/25 "2014-07-30T03:23:50Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Why go through the waste when you might find a full, well-developed cob? Then don’t bitch when produce prices go up because people are willing to pass up perfectly good ears of corn just because they are a little less developed and the grocery store ends up throwing them away. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/26 "2014-07-30T04:30:11Z")
It is good to live in the heart of corn country. I get my corn from a farmer a few miles away, either from a farmers’ market or from a shop I know he supplies it to. It is picked dark and early in the morning and is in my tummy by sunset. I know that what I’m getting is from the same section of the field and will all be very similar. I grill my corn in the husk so I don’t want it to be pulled back. Just cut the silk off the end and a bit off the other end for a handle. Soak it for a while and toss on a hot grill. It is done when it smells like corn (you will know what I mean when you do it once). Peel the husk back but not off and it is part of the handle. The silk will mostly come off as well and any extra is very easy to remove when cooked. Butter and salt and you are good to go. Here is roughly what I’m talking about: [![](https://otasteandseeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/microwave-corn-on-the-cob-7.jpg) ](https://otasteandseeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/microwave-corn-on-the-cob-7.jpg) I get bags (supposed to be a dozen, but usually around 15) once per week or more and I remember one worm and only a handful of bad ears. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/27 "2014-07-30T04:53:09Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Mainly checking for ripeness. Secondarily bugs. There’s also a possibility of fungus. Are you pro- or anti-fungus? Isn’t corn smut a delicacy? > [@Spud](#): > > I grill my corn in the husk so I don’t want it to be pulled back. Just cut the silk off the end and a bit off the other end for a handle. Soak it for a while and toss on a hot grill. It is done when it smells like corn (you will know what I mean when you do it once). Peel the husk back but not off and it is part of the handle. The silk will mostly come off as well and any extra is very easy to remove when cooked. Butter and salt and you are good to go. Here is roughly what I’m talking about: Salt? Butter and pepper for me. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/28 "2014-07-30T04:58:20Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Salt? Butter and pepper for me. I actually put salt on very few things… corn is one and potatoes are another. Must be a starch thing. Cracked pepper is perfectly fine though as well. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/29 "2014-07-30T05:01:08Z")
Oh, and this. > [@Spud](#): > > It is good to live in the heart of corn country. I get my corn from a farmer a few miles away, either from a farmers’ market or from a shop I know he supplies it to. It is picked dark and early in the morning and is in my tummy by sunset. I know that what I’m getting is from the same section of the field and will all be very similar Really bad username/post combo. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/30 "2014-07-30T05:08:44Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Oh, and this.Really bad username/post combo. I think you quoted the wrong post. I said I salted potatoes, I didn’t say I ate them… that would be taboo. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/31 "2014-07-30T05:21:24Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > I think you quoted the wrong post. No, that was the right post. I just thought it was odd that someone named Spud would be posting about the minutia of selecting, cooking, and eating corn. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/32 "2014-07-30T12:48:17Z")
I am fortunate that I live near a farm that sells fresh corn and vegetables that were picked the same day. So I don’t have to buy grocery store corn. But I have noticed other customers scrutinizing ground meat for 10 minutes, examining every square millimeter of it, poking and prodding it. It’s freakin’ ground meat! What the hell are you looking for? Bits of plastic? Pink Slime? Metal Shavings? What? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/33 "2014-07-30T15:16:21Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Then don’t bitch when produce prices go up because people are willing to pass up perfectly good ears of corn just because they are a little less developed and the grocery store ends up throwing them away. I watched my grocery store lop off those ends, then shrink wrap ears that had been picked over (assuming the ear was still large enough). ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/34 "2014-07-30T16:02:17Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I have never, ever gotten worms in my corn and I buy it every summer many, many times. Where are you people who get worms, if I may ask. End of the season corn is usually pretty wormy around here. Not so much the mid-summer corn. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/35 "2014-07-30T16:32:07Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Yeah, for me it’s checking for pollination failure and kernel abortion. Which looks like [this](https://www.pioneer.com/multimedia/imgGalleries/cropTour/0812_lackore1.jpg). I just can’t wait to use use the words “pollination failure” and “kernel abortion”, they’re awesome. I only chek for ripeness. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/36 "2014-07-30T16:37:35Z")
> [@Clarisse\_McClellan](#): > > My mama taught me to peel the husk back and stick my thumb nail into a kernel. If it squirts, it’s ripe. That’s what my wife does. And we’ve never gotten bugs. Our store charges extra for ears that have been husked to put a stop to this. The corn bin is small enough that no one would be able to get to the corn if people husked. I husk right into our compost bin - all the mess outside and contributing to the garden for next year. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/37 "2014-07-30T16:49:29Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > …If it is pointed, it isn’t a fully developed ear. If it’s blunt, you’re good. Unless you want it to be pointed, such as being a bar fight extra confronted with a superior brawler. In which case you can break the tip off by smashing it against the bar. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/38 "2014-07-30T17:12:08Z")
I just do a quick check to make sure it’s not rotten and the kernels look good. I prefer when the store has a big trash can next to the corn so if I accept the ear, I shuck it right there and let them dispose of the husks. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/39 "2014-07-30T17:14:07Z")
I shuck the corn in the store, but am not super picky. I usually grill the corn (without the husks) It is interesting to see the progression of sources (Mexico, then US, then local) Brian ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365/40 "2014-07-30T20:22:31Z")
> [@Clarisse\_McClellan](#): > > If it squirts, it’s ripe. This is true about so many things…😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-ocd-about-their-sweet-corn-at-the-grocery-store/694365.md?page=3)