There are a lot of good things about summer, but many of us would put fresh corn near the top of the list. Your supermarket will probably offer corn most of the year, but here in our South Carolina summer you can buy it at a local farmers’ market or, even better if you have the space and interest, grow it yourself.
If you plant successive crops, you can have fresh corn until frost. Most home gardeners don’t do that. Usually they plant corn in April, or as soon as the weather allows and the soil temperature is in the mid-50s. Corn requires two and a half months for maturity. Rain is important for all crops, but corn must have moisture during the last two or three weeks after tasseling and before harvest. This can be from rain or from moisture in the soil.
Corn may be cut from the cob or left on it. Corn can be boiled, baked, fried, grilled, frozen, or made into relish. You can also grow popcorn, but be sure you have planted the correct variety. Unlike the Sunday Dinner fresh corn, popcorn isn’t harvested until it is dry on the stalk.
If you remember your history, the early settlers on our shores learned about corn from the Indians. This was a new thing for the visiting Europeans, and they liked it.
As our country grew in the years that followed, almost every neighborhood had a miller who ground the mature and dry corn into meal — which led to corn bread, another staple of the Southern kitchen.
However you choose to eat fresh corn, it will be good … for any meal, but especially for Sunday Dinner. Here are a few suggestions for you:
Southern Corn
8 ears of corn
6 tablespoons butter or bacon drippings
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup light whipping cream
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup half-and-half cream
Remove husks and silks from corn; cut and scrape kernels from the cob.
In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat; then add the corn. Cook about five minutes; then stir in the flour, sugar and the half-and-half.
Cook about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the ½ cup light cream, stir to mix well. Serve immediately. Serves 8.
Grilled Corn on the Cob
8 ears of corn (or as many as needed)
Dash of garlic powder
Dash of salt and pepper
Melted butter
Remove husks and silks from corn. Cut off tip of ear. Using a pastry brush, coat each ear with the melted butter, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Wrap each ear in aluminum foil and cook on top rack of grill 15-20 minutes. Turn every five minutes or so. Corn will be tender but crunchy. Allow one or two ears per person.
Corn Oysters
1 cup grated fresh corn
3 level tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
½ cup milk
Butter
Grate and scrape corn from cob. Beat egg and add the milk.
Sift together the flour and salt, and add to the egg-milk mixture to make a batter. Stir in the corn.
In a skillet, heat a small amount of butter. When butter is hot, drop a small amount (about a tablespoon or more) of the corn batter into the butter. When one side is brown, turn the “oyster” to brown the other side.
Corn Chowder
2 cups fresh corn
¾ cup finely chopped celery
1 ¾ cups half-and-half
½ teaspoon basil
6 slices cooked, crumbled bacon
¼ cup butter
½ teaspoon salt or to taste
Pepper to taste
1 10-ounce can cream of chicken soup
In a two-quart pot, cook the celery in the butter until tender. Add remaining ingredients except bacon. Heat, pour into serving dishes and sprinkle with crumbled bacon. Serves 6.