Gluten Sensitivity
This recipe is safe for those who are sensitive to gluten.
"The greatest drawback is the way in which it is necessary to eat it. It looks awkward enough: but what is to be done? Surrendering such a vegetable from considerations of grace is not to be thought of." -Harriet Martineau, an Englishwoman writing about corn on the cob in 1835
The refrigerator light goes on...
This recipe includes the pat of butter for your corn on the cob because it just wouldn’t be corn without it. Take the pat and enjoy it. This recipe works well both on the grill and in the oven. The grill will give the corn a lovely charcoal flavor.
Corn
There are a number of varieties of corn, some used for feed and others for milling. Popcorn is a variety unto itself. For the purposes of cooking corn, or corn on the cob, most recipes use only sweet corn. Interestingly, Native Americans didn’t eat much of this corn, finding it to be too sweet and the texture too creamy.
There is an almost endless variety of sweet corn and all are slight variations based on how sweet the corn is. There are both yellow and white as well as combination varieties. The genetic make up of sweet corn results in increased amounts of sugars stored in the corn kernels, with more varieties of sweeter corn being engineered every year.
As soon as the corn is picked, the sugar in the kernels begins to turn to starch. So, the fresher the corn the better. The husks should be bright green and not dry. Likewise, silks should be slightly moist and the kernels plump.
While the particular variety of corn is a good predictor of how it will taste it is the individual farmers that are the key to good corn. I have had Silver Queen that was dry and tasteless and not altogether very sweet. I live in the country and looking for freshly picked corn is a sport similar to hunting wild mushrooms – everybody has their favorite spot to go looking.
