Sweet Corn Recipes: We’re All Ears

It’s been called nature’s sugar. Those sunburst-yellow kernels tucked into an ear that’s wrapped in silks and a green husk for protection. Sweet corn has undergone radical changes, becoming sweeter every year as corn geneticists have engineered a bundle of supersweet hybrids that are designed to remain sweet and non-starchy.

For three short months, just-picked ears fill farmers markets and supermarket bins, bursting with summer flavor. In fact, we Americans each consume an average of nine pounds of sweet corn a year. Our collective favorite is the yellow and white bicolor varieties.

Byron Shotts, a veterinarian from Casey, Illinois, started planting bicolor sweet corn when the first varieties came out – Peaches and Cream, Honey and Pearl, and now Ambrosia – and prefers its sweeter taste. He and his brother, Mike, of Martinsville, try to plant a half acre devoted just to corn as early as possible (late April or early May in Southeastern Illinois) and then stagger plantings every two to three weeks, weather permitting, until the first of July. The two raise it to give to family and friends.

“It’s something my dad always did,” Shotts says. “And I’ve just carried on the tradition. He passed away 11 years ago, and it makes us think of him. We love eating it straight out of the garden with butter and salt and pepper.”

Their mother, Marilyn, still cans and freezes the corn kernels each summer.

“Our biggest battle is with the bugs and the wildlife,” Shotts says. “We finally decided to put up a temporary electric fence to keep the coons out.”

At the Illinois State Fair, ears of sweet corn have been sold Tex-Mex style – seasoned with lime, cumin and chili powder – with the husk still on, the Tex-Mex flavors spread with butter over the just-cooked ears.

The beauty of corn is its versatile ability to take on flavors, whether something as simple as butter and salt and pepper or as complex as Indian flavors such as a mix of curry powder, lemon zest and cilantro.

Once picked, sweet corn will hold in the refrigerator from five to seven days, but the sooner it’s cooked, the sweeter it tastes, before the natural sugar in the kernels turns to starch.

In my family, we spent a few days each summer, usually around the Fourth of July, putting up sweet corn for the winter. All of us had a job. My dad and brother picked the ears and husked them. Mom and I washed, blanched and iced down the ears. My husband would cut the corn off the cobs, and we’d all help package it into pint-size bags to freeze. Come Thanksgiving, when summer’s bounty made it on the table next to the turkey, we appreciated the labor of love from the past summer.

See some of our favorite sweet corn recipes below, from sweet to savory:

Grilled Sweet Corn with Sun-Dried Tomato Butter

Take grilled corn on the cob to the next level with our easy Grilled Sweet Corn with Sun-Dried Tomato Butter. Mix softened butter with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, basil and Parmesan and spread over freshly grilled corn for a simple side dish fit for all your summertime cookouts.

Summer Nicoise Salad with Grilled Corn

Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Blackberry Swirl

If you’ve never had corn in a dessert, consider our recipe for Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Blackberry Swirl your sign to give it a go. The mild sweetness of the corn pairs beautifully with vanilla ice cream and blackberries, offering just a hint of corn flavor for a delicious frozen treat that tastes like summer in a bowl.

Summer Skillet Gnocchi with Grilled Corn and Burrata

Looking for a quick go-to meal? Fire up the grill, grab a cast-iron skillet and cook up some Summer Skillet Gnocchi with Grilled Corn and Burrata. Toss tomatoes, onions, grilled corn, garlic and cooked gnocchi until lightly charred, then top with Parmesan, burrata and fresh basil.

Vivian Howard’s Raw Corn and Cantaloupe Salad with Red Onion and Roasted Poblano

Elote Dip

Creamy Elote Dip made with grilled corn, green chilies, sour cream and cheese makes a crowd-pleasing appetizer for any occasion.