One of the goodies that summer gives us is boiled corn. We immediately buy a few ears of corn as soon as it appears on the shelves, and enjoy the taste that has been familiar to us since childhood.
Pick your recipe
Only until the end of August the corn will be young and fresh, later it will be overripe, and therefore tough. The degree of maturity of corn can be determined by its color. The brighter it is, the more ripe the ear. For cooking, corn with milky white grains, or light yellow, is best suited. When choosing ears, you should pay attention to the fact that the grains should be a little soft, but quite elastic, positioned tightly to each other and be the same size.
The young cob contains a viscous white liquid resembling milk.
If the grains are dimpled rather than rounded, then this indicates its ripeness and unsuitability for cooking. Particular attention should be paid to the leaves of the cobs, if they are not, then such corn should not be taken. In mature corn, the leaves lag behind the ears, they are yellow and dry.
Corn preparation
Leaves from the ears can not be cleaned, but boiled with them. Only spoiled leaves are subject to removal.
Before cooking, it is recommended to soak the corn for an hour.
In order for the corn to be cooked evenly all, the ears are selected of the same size. If they are large, then you need to cut them in half.
What to do with overripe corn
Overripe corn is cleaned of fibers and leaves, cut in half and poured with a mixture of milk and water in equal proportions. Soak the corn in diluted milk for about four hours, and then boil as usual.
How much to cook corn
Cooking time depends only on the degree of maturity of the ears. It will take about half an hour to prepare young corn, maybe even less, but ripened corn is cooked from 40 minutes to two or even three hours.
It is important not to miss the moment when the corn grains are ready, otherwise they will harden.
For cooking cobs, cast-iron thick-walled dishes with a tight-fitting lid are best suited. Corn can be baked in the oven, and cook in the microwave or double boiler.
A few tips:
You need to lower the corn into boiling water.
It is impossible to salt the corn during cooking in any case, otherwise it will turn out to be tough. You need to do this five minutes before the end of cooking, or salt the ready-made corn.
If you add butter or a little sugar to the water in which the corn is cooked, then its taste will be more tender.
Corn is not cooked over high heat, after it boils, the fire is immediately reduced.
When cooling, the corn hardens, and therefore it must be eaten immediately after cooking.