Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2007 02:23:48 -0400 (EDT)
From: dicconf <dicconf at radix.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: No shucking, please
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

On Fri, 1 Jun 2007, Eva Whitley wrote:
> Ted White wrote:
>> samlubell at verizon.net wrote:

>>>  Other solutions: Improve the freshness so that people don't have to
>>>  open the corn to avoid getting a bad ear
>>>  Pre-shuck the corn, (and you can charge more in the same way stores
>>>  charge more for precut and washed salads)
>>
>> These are ignorant solutions.  How do you "improve the freshness"?  The
>> only possible way is to get it from the field to the store in less than
>> an hour.  Good luck with that.

An hour is pushing it; it still has to be paid for and taken home and
the water heated.  For best results, pick it in a field no more than
ten minutes away.

> A smart solution (for a number of vegetables, not just corn) would be
> for grocery stores to contract with local farms to sell their produce
> directly.

Several local outlets of large food store chains have some produce
marked "locally grown".  But that takes intelligence on the part of
the manager, and flexibility on the part of the chain store management.

>> The "Silver Queen" solution is probably
>> smarter, since the no-longer-fresh ears still contain enough sugar to
>> *taste* fresher.  Pre-shucked corn (displayed in sealed packages) won't
>> keep well, but is being done in some stores.  Invariably when I've seen
>> such corn on display, it has been way too maturely picked, with fat
>> kernels crammed next to each other, a guarantee of tough and tasteless
>> corn.  Sadly, far too many consumers *look* for such ears, thinking
>> they're getting the best bargain.

Some people don't mind chewing their corn kernels.

> What the stores need to do is educate the public that boiling corn is
> wrong, wrong, wrong, and what they need to do is cook corn on the grill.
> And to do that, it has to be covered with the husk.* If you discover
> that parts of it are underdeveloped, well, nothing in life is certain.
> Freshly grilled corn is worth the risk. (BTW, the Union Mills Corn Roast
> is scheduled for August 4th, if anyone wants to join me.) --Eva Whitley
>
> *A lot of home ec types will make a big deal about soaking the corn, and
> removing the silks, and tying the de-silked husks around the corn but
> that's totally unnecessary. When you grill corn, it steams the corn, so
> the silk adheres to the husks. And 21st Century Corn has many
> generations of breeding for sweetness, so you could eat it raw, if you
> wanted to.

A difference of personal taste here: I have never had grilled corn that
was worth the effort.  However, in the past I have grown sweet corn, and
also asparagus.  Both are best eaten raw within two minutes of being
picked.  I haven't cooked corn or asparagus in years.  Even bought from
the store, they are better eaten raw.  Your mileage may vary.  (But
blanching it by boiling for no more than 10 minutes does have one very
helpful effect: it kills the corn worms.)

=Tamar