One thing the month of August always meant, the whole of my life . . . was that fresh CORN season was finally here! I have always looked forward to it the whole year through. There is nothing on earth as delicious as a hot ear of freshly picked corn on the cob with cold butter and salt. Nothing. Okay . . . maybe there are a few things . . . but fresh corn on the cob is definitely in the top ten of my most beloved tastes for sure! Up until this summer it had been 18 years since I had been able to enjoy this delectable delicacy. My friend Eric however, grows beautiful corn, and has gifted me several times this season already! Let me tell you, each time it has tasted like a little bit of Manna from Heaven to me!!!
He gave me some more this past Sunday, and I decided to treat Todd to real Home Style Cream Corn, which is a bazillion times better than what comes in a can! It can be a bit of work to make, with cutting the corn kernels from the cobs and scraping them, but the taste is worth every bit of extra effort! Just make sure you use a large deep bowl when you are scraping the cobs, or you will literally have it everywhere. (That is the voice of experience speaking.)
You will only want to cut off the kernels about 3/4 of the way through, leaving about 1/4 of each kernel on the cob. Then you just take the back of the knife and use it to scrape the milk and pulp from each cob. This is the messy part, but you really want those bits. Those are the very essence of the flavor of the corn. After that it is pretty easy going.
The kernels, pulp and milk get put into a large skillet with some melted butter and a bit of water and sugar. Keep cooking and stirring until your corn is tender. You will have to keep tasting it to test it for doneness, as the time is variable depending on the size and age of your corn. Smaller younger kernels take a shorter time, more mature corn kernels take a bit longer.
Once your corn is tender you add a roux of flour and water to help thicken the corn juices . . . let it cook for a couple of minutes to cook out the flour taste. Oh, and some seasoning also. Did you know that you shouldn't add salt to corn while you are cooking it? Just sugar. Salt toughens it. True fact. You want to add the salt after it is cooked, just to season it.
Once the flour flavor has cooked out of the roux, you will be adding some single cream (half and half) along with a few splashes of hot pepper sauce and some honey. You could also use milk, but I like the single cream. It is really lovely If you do use milk, make sure it is whole milk . . . full fat milk . . . in for a penny, in for a pound!!
The end result is a dish that is fabulously tasty!! Rich and creamy!
I could eat a whole bowl of this and nothing else . . . glutton that I am . . . corn lover that I am . . .
And why not! Its only once a year, or . . . in my case . . . once in 18 years!!! Thank you Eric!
*Home Style Cream Corn*Serves 6 to 8Printable Recipe
I love tinned cream corn and this is a bazillion times better. I really only make it when fresh corn is in season, so its a once a year kind of a treat!
6 ears of freshly picked corn65g butter (1/4 cup)3 TBS water1 tsp sugar1 TBS plain flour, blended with 1 1/2 TBS water1/2 tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper180ml single cream (3/4 cup half and half)few splashes hot pepper saucesplash of liquid honey
Remove the husks and silk from the ears of corn. The easiest way to do this is to cut the cobs off about 1/2 inch from the base end and peel from that end down to the tip. You will find that the silk comes off beautifully. Its simple. Trim off about 1/2 inch from the pointed end to make a flat end. Make sure you use a large deep bowl. When you start scraping the cobs the corn and its juices will fly everywhere! Stand the corn, one ear at a time, in the bowl and using a sharp knife, cut the kernels from the cob only cutting about 3/4 of the way through. Once you have removed all the kernels, using the back side of the knife, scrape down the cobs to extract all of the milk and pulp from the corn.
You will need a fairly large skillet. Melt the butter in the skillet over medum low heat. Once the butter has melted, pour in the corn and all of the juices/pulp. Add the 3 TBS of water and the sugar. Cook, stirring frequently, until the corn is tender and cooked. This will take at least 10 minutes or so. Keep tasting to check. At the end of that time, stir in the flour which has been blended with the water, salt and black pepper. Stir this into the corn and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in the cream, pepper sauce and honey. Heat through for a few more minutes, without boiling. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
Variation - You can whisk in a TBS of lime juice and add a TBS of chopped fresh basil leaves at the end for another lovely version as well!
I really hope you are able to procure some freshly picked corn to make this delicious dish. I think you will agree with me when I say, this is one of the best ways to enjoy fresh corn ever!!! Bon Appetit and Happy Corn Season!
