On Corn

Around this time of year is the best time for fresh corn-on-the-cob in Ontario.

Last week I tried to get some, but couldn't; I'd gotten there too late. Oh, there were still corn cobs in the produce section. But they were all half-shucked. I dunno why, but people are still in the habit of yanking off the husks to check the insides when they buy corn.

I don't. I feel the cob without peeling; if it's firm enough I add it to the basket. (It's also good to check the silk at the top of the cob; if it's too dry it's too old.)

Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe is the one who put it best: "Shucked and boiled in water, sweet corn is edible and nutritious; roasted in husk in the hottest possible oven for forty minutes, shucked at the table, buttered and salted, nothing else, it is ambrosia."

I have to agree, though I do make a couple of changes. First, I soak the cobs for 20 minutes in water, in an oval roasting pan. Then, I drain the cobs and put the pan in the oven at 450 degrees, for 40 minutes.

The husks come out blackened, but easy to peel off, same with the silk. And the end makes a convenient handle. Add butter, and "ambrosia" becomes an appropriate term.

I plan to roast corn this weekend. I just have to remember to get to the grocery early -- before the shuckers make a mess of things again.