If you love to cook, as we do, you probably spend the last days of spring and early summer eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first crop of sweet summer corn. It’s hard to beat the natural sweetness of fresh corn on or just cut from the cob and harder to find anything easier to prepare.

Although there are a limitless number of ways to cook corn and many forms of corn such as polenta, corn meal used for breads, masa used for breads, tortillas and tamales and grits to name a few, we’d like to talk about fresh corn.

The most simple form, corn on the cob, can still be cooked in several ways, the most popular being boiled or grilled.

Let’s start with methods for boiling. There are almost as many opinions on how long to boil corn as there are cooks. We believe there is no right or wrong way, but we do, of course, have our opinion. My mother taught me to place the ears in vigorously boiling salted water and cook for exactly 7 minutes. I have also read cookbooks that say that corn is completely edible raw and therefore almost no cooking is necessary. We prefer to fall somewhere in the middle. Our version of perfectly boiled corn is to place it into vigorously boiling water for 4 minutes and, contrary to popular belief, there is no need to salt the water.

Recently, we have experimented with a different way to boil corn with terrific results. The corn is boiled in the husk. Surprisingly enough, the corn is actually easier to husk after it is cooked than before. The silks stick together and peel away easily. To prepare corn with this method, simply bring a large pot of water to a boil, again, do not salt the water. Remove the outer leaves from the corn husks. When the water is boiling vigorously, place the ears, husks and all, into the pot. Boil for 5 minutes, making sure the corn in submerged and all sides of the ears are in the boiling water. Remove the corn and let sit until cool enough to handle, then peel back the husks and silks. Corn cooked in this way seems to have a more intense corn flavor.

Grilled corn can be cooked in or out of the husks also. Some like to wrap the ears in foil before placing on the grill, but this is not grilling, but rather steaming. If you want the flavor of grilled corn, forget the foil and place the ears directly on the grill.

Grilling corn in the husk also has two schools of thought. One, is to first soak the corn in the husks in water so that the husks will not burn on the grill. The other is to place the husks on the grill without soaking and to simply turn the ears frequently so they don’t burn. We subscribe to the second method. Unless you place the corn over a raging fire, it is unlikely that it will burn. Plus, it is easy to monitor the heat by moving it to a cooler area of the grill if necessary.

I prefer grilled corn out of the husk because I love the roasted color of the kernels and the intense roasted taste. To grill corn out of the husk, simply rub the ear with olive oil and place on the grill. Corn cooked in this way will take about 10 minutes and should be watched and turned frequently so that it doesn’t burn. To fresh grilled corn, you can add flavored butters, herbs or seasonings to give the corn unique flavors to accompany almost any entrée.

Fresh corn is also fabulous cut from the cob and sautéed or used in relishes, soufflés, soups or chowders, polenta, risottos, salads and salsas. Cutting corn from the cob can be a bit frustrating as the kernels go shooting all over your kitchen. To keep the job a little more under control, stand the cob upright in a small bowl and beginning in the center of the cob, cut the kernels off downwards towards the bottom of the bowl. When all the kernels have been cut from the lower half of the cob, flip the cob over and cut the remaining kernels from the cob in the same way

Although there are some organic, frozen sweet corn products on the market that are quite good, they are still no match for the taste and texture of fresh sweet corn on or off the cob.

Try these recipes with your next batch of fresh corn!

Black Bean, Corn & Pepper Sauté
Barbequed Sausage & Shrimp Gumbo
Summer Vegetable & Pasta Stew
Cajun Grilled Corn
Chili Grilled Corn
Creamy Polenta w/Fresh Corn
Fresh Corn & Black Bean Salad
Fresh Corn Risotto
Green Corn Off the Cob
Grilled Corn with Brown Sugar Butter
Grilled Corn with Herb Butter
Jerk Grilled Corn
Corn Soufflés
Salmon w/Corn Relish
Corn Chowder

- Glutenfreeda