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Since childhood, summer has been associated with fragrant hot corn. But not everyone is able to recreate this sweet and unique taste at home. We will figure out how to properly cook corn on the cob and get the most out of the process and the result.
How to choose corn on the cob for cooking
To prepare juicy and tasty corn, it is important to choose fresh and young cobs. The season usually starts in August and lasts until early September. Corn bought later is often tough and overripe.
What does young corn look like? It has a light, slightly yellowish tint. Cob grains are soft and elastic to the touch, of the same size and rounded shape. It is also important to pay attention to the leaves of corn. They should be green and not dried out.
How to cook corn in a saucepan: step by step instructions
The easiest and most common way to cook corn is in a pot.
Step 1: Clean and Rinse the Cobs
Before cooking, corn on the cob must be cleaned of leaves and hairs. If they have darkened grains, remove them. Next, rinse the corn well.
Step 2. Boil water
Having prepared the corn, you need to take a pan of a suitable size and fill it with water so that the corn is completely covered with liquid after immersion. Next, bring the water to a boil. An important point: at this stage, you do not need to salt anything, otherwise the corn grains will turn out to be tough.
Step 3 Cook the Corn
Now you need to carefully lower the cobs into boiling water. To bring it to full readiness, you should cook the corn in a closed pan for 20-30 minutes. This time should be enough to prepare a young fruit. If the corn is ripe, it will take longer to cook it – about an hour.
Step 4. Salt
After cooking, put the corn on a plate and let it cool slightly. Just at this stage, the finished cobs should be sprinkled with fine salt and rubbed. If desired, you can run a piece of butter over the grains.
expert Tips
Chef of the CEBEREVER restaurant Sergey Chernyaev:
– Choose milky corn with fresh, green leaves. It is useful to soak ripe, rich yellow cobs before cooking for a couple of hours, and after cooking, wrap the pan and let the grains “reach”. Try adding butter, along with salt, right into the pot at the end of cooking, and if that isn’t enough for your imagination, replace some of the water with milk, or try baking the cobs instead of boiling them (or microwaving: it’s faster!).
Bitter Drop coffee house chef Nikita Zainullin:
– For cooking corn, it is better to use cobs of the same size. Otherwise, there is a chance that small corn will be digested, and large one will not be cooked.
If the ears are prepared for children, then it is better to cut them into circles after cooking. This will make it easier to eat them. This technique can also be used when decorating children’s dishes, because this form visually resembles the sun.
Corn is the perfect addition to an outdoor barbecue. It pairs well with meat and can be grilled. With this method, it is important to generously lubricate the cobs with butter. After cooking, you can grate the corn with any cream cheese and sprinkle with paprika. This will make a delicious side dish or an independent dish.
Popular questions and answers
Experts answer frequently asked questions from our readers.
Can you cook corn with leaves?
– You can cook corn in leaves, but only if the cob is young and fresh. This is determined very simply: just look at the cut. If it doesn’t look dry and feels slightly watery to the touch, then the corn is young and can be cooked without peeling. Old corn must be boiled without leaves, as carcinogens are formed in them over time, which adversely affect health. For this reason, it is undesirable to buy ready-made unpeeled cobs on the street from merchants.
Sergey Chernyaev, chef of the CEBEREVER restaurant:
– Some connoisseurs believe that the leaves adjacent to the cob give the corn a special flavor. You can boil it with leaves, but I would advise you to first remove them from the cob to wash and make sure that there is no sand or spoiled grains under them. The leaves can come in handy and if you want to grill or charcoal the corn, the grains will burn less and stay juicy.
Can you boil corn in salt water?
— Corn can be boiled in brackish and fresh water. It all depends on your taste, the toppings with which you will eat the cob, or the dish you want to cook. But don’t add too much salt. It is best to do this after cooking. Otherwise, there is a chance that the corn will turn out to be rather dry.
Sergey Chernyaev, chef of the CEBEREVER restaurant
– Young light grains will cook well in salt water, but still it is better to add salt to the corn at the very end of cooking or already during meals. Many people add sugar when cooking – this is best avoided: the glycemic index of corn is already high.
What is the benefit of boiled corn?
– It has more fiber than fresh, and it is more easily absorbed by the body. Unlike canned, boiled corn does not contain excess salt and sugar. Due to the content of magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and other minerals, it reduces cholesterol, relieves swelling, is good for the nervous and immune systems and maintains human health in general. However, it should be remembered that for people with diabetes, thrombosis and gastrointestinal diseases, it may be contraindicated. Limit yourself to one or two ears a day and be healthy!