Sweetcorn
The arrival of sweetcorn, one of the very few ergonomically designed vegetables, is a welcome relief to the back after a summer bent double picking lettuces and courgettes; corn bears its cobs at the perfect height. Unfortunately the local badger population shares our enthusiasm for the crop. During our first year of growing corn, I returned from a few days away in August to find the field devastated, with only a narrow perimeter strip left standing. My paranoid mind raced through a list of possible ill-wishers with scores to settle: had Peter Melchett mistaken it for a GM trial? Had the local rave crew staged an all-nighter in my field? In the end the corn-laden poo and the teeth marks identified the culprits.
Badgers have a sweet tooth, with a taste for strawberries and other fruit, but sweetcorn is their favourite. It would not be so bad if they worked methodically and finished the cobs they started, but surveying the destruction in the morning is like being the first one to regain consciousness after a wild party. It is as if the entire county’s badger population had gathered to make merry: rolling around in groups, grabbing a mouthful here and there, but mostly just enjoying the wanton destruction. We have found that several hundred volts through an electric fence, erected before they get their first taste, can keep them at bay. Even then, they outsmarted us one year by tunnelling a full 20 metres under the fence, emerging well inside the field. By leaving the perimeter intact, they managed to destroy most of the field before we found the tunnel.
Maize, which is native to Mexico and Guatemala, has become as important a staple crop as wheat or rice, particularly in poorer tropical areas, where local varieties are often the basis of subsistence farming. In these areas the corn is almost always allowed to mature, then dried and ground into flour to be used in tortillas or porridge. In the UK we are on the climatic extreme for the crop. It is a sun and heat lover and struggles in a cool summer, even though we choose warm, protected, south-facing fields. Our sweetcorn varieties have been selected for a very slow conversion of sugars to starch, which leaves a window of about ten days between the grains turning yellow, becoming fully filled and sweet and then turning starchy and chewy. Over the years the plant breeders have got better and better at this selection, to the extent where (I think) some of the ‘super-sweet’ varieties are now almost too sweet.
Maize has a slightly particular photosynthetic process that is extremely efficient at high temperatures. In a hot summer, once this kicks in, the growth rate is staggering. The male flowers appear at the top of the plants, normally in late July or early August, and release so much pollen that it comes off in clouds as you walk through the shoulder-high crop, sometimes turning the ground yellow. By this stage the tassels are emerging from the developing cobs lower down to trap the windborne pollen. A pollen grain must land on each tassel, which is actually a small, flexible tube leading to a grain waiting to be fertilised inside the wrapper leaves. In a good summer we can be picking sweetcorn by mid August but more often it is late August or even September before the first cobs are ready. The pickers could do with X-ray perception, as they have to judge whether a cob is fully filled and ripe just by the feel (once you start peeling back the leaves and peering inside, it will quickly deteriorate). Normally they get it right, but we ask our customers to let us know if more than the occasional cob is not up to scratch and we will replace them.
Each plant usually produces at least two cobs but it is rare for more than one to be fully filled and saleable. When we have finished picking, we leave the rest standing, and the stubble provides a wonderful food source for wildlife. It also has the virtue of attracting pheasants from miles around, which can provide a few additional meals in December.
Storage and preparation
A lot of fuss is made about ‘getting the water boiling before you pick the cob’, in order to get the sweetest corn. This is based on the fact that the sugar supply (photosynthesis) is cut off when you pick the corn and the sugars will then quickly be converted to starch. With the new super-sweet varieties, this is less the case but it is still worth keeping the cobs in the fridge and using them as soon as possible. They come in their own packaging, and will always keep better if the sheathing leaves are left intact. It is the height of supermarket madness to strip these off the cobs in order to wrap them in less effective, more polluting plastic.
Before boiling corn cobs, you need to pull off the green husks and the silky threads. The time for boiling varies from about 4 minutes (for very fresh corn, and if you want a good crunch) to 10 minutes or more – in UNSALTED water. If you add salt, the kernels will take longer to cook.
In seasons when the corn arrives before you pack the barbecue away for the winter, the cobs can be very good grilled outdoors. Soak the entire (unpeeled) cob in water for at least an hour before cooking slowly on the barbecue over a lowish heat, turning periodically. When the outer leaves brown, the cob is normally just right (this can take 25 to 45 minutes). The peeled-back leaves make a natural handle for holding the hot cobs. You need a fair amount of space on the barbecue, and they take a while to cook, so either start them early or satisfy the normal carnivorous meat lust first. You can also adapt this method to roasting: prepare the cobs in the same way and cook for a similar time at around 200°C/Gas Mark 6.
I once soaked a whole batch in the river for a staff barbecue, unknowingly upsetting a proprietorial fisherman, who tried to stir up trouble by reporting us to the Environmental Health Department. They mounted a raid in response to reports that we were washing our vegetables in the river.
Braised Sweetcorn with Spinach
This is a lovely dish to cook using fresh corn. Try to get a slightly brown colour on the corn kernels, as this imparts a faintly caramelised, smoky flavour.
Serves 4
2 corn cobs
50g butter
1 garlic clove, crushed
300g fresh spinach
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Stand each cob upright on a board and cut downwards with a sharp knife in a sawing action to remove the kernels.
Melt the butter in a pan, add the corn, then cover and cook gently for 10 minutes, until just tender and lightly coloured. Add the garlic and mix well. Meanwhile, blanch the spinach in boiling salted water for 30 seconds, then drain and refresh in cold water. Squeeze out excess water, chop the spinach roughly and add to the corn. Cook for 3 minutes or so, until heated through, then season with salt and pepper and serve.
Chicken, Leek and Corn Soup
Soup day in the Riverford staff canteen was not very popular (it has since been binned) but it gave us the chance to experiment. This chicken chowder was a big success.
Serves 4
2 corn cobs
50g butter
2 red chillies, deseeded and diced
2 streaky bacon rashers, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 leeks, halved and sliced
2 floury potatoes, peeled and diced
the meat from 4 chicken thighs, skinned and diced
1 litre chicken stock
200ml single cream
1 tablespoon chopped chives or parsley
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cut the kernels from the sweetcorn cobs – the easiest way to do this is to stand each cob upright on a board and cut downwards with a sharp knife in a sawing action.
Heat the butter in a large pan, add the chillies, bacon, onion, garlic and leeks and fry for about 10 minutes, without browning. Add the potatoes, chicken, corn and stock and simmer for 15–20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked. Stir in the cream and herbs, season well and serve.
Sweetcorn Fritters
Jane has made literally hundreds of these over the years and is still cooking them today. I think that is recommendation enough. They make a great canapé topped with guacamole and soured cream. Or serve them as they do in Australia – as a brunch dish, with rocket, avocado, bacon and some tomato salsa.
Serves 6
3 corn cobs
125g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons polenta
1 teaspoon sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
125ml milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped coriander and/or chives
2 teaspoons olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Peel the husks off the corn cobs, then cook them in boiling water for about 10 minutes, until just tender. Drain well and cut off the kernels.
Put the flour, baking powder, polenta and sugar in a bowl. Add the eggs and yolk and beat together. Gradually beat in the crème fraîche and milk until you get a thick, smooth batter. Heat half the butter in a pan until brown and add it to the batter. Add the chilli, onion, corn and herbs and season well.
Heat the oil and the remaining butter in a frying pan until quite hot. Drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the pan and fry over a medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Serve immediately.
Corn on the Cob with Red Pepper and Chive Butter
Instead of roasting and skinning fresh red peppers for this, you could buy a jar of peeled peppers. We recommend the Spanish ones, as they usually have a good smoky flavour.
Serves 8
2 red peppers
125g softened butter
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 chilli, chopped
1 teaspoon sweet chilli sauce
1 tablespoon chopped chives
8 corn cobs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Roast the red peppers in a hot oven until the skin is lightly blackened or
blistered (or do this under a hot grill). Place in a bowl, cover with cling film and
leave for 20 minutes – this helps loosen the skin. Peel the peppers,
discarding all of the skin and seeds. Place the butter, peppers, garlic, chilli and
chilli sauce in a food processor and process until well combined. Stir in the
chopped chives and some salt and pepper.
Boil or barbecue the corn cobs (see Storage and preparation), then smear the butter on them while they are still hot.
Easy ideas for sweetcorn
• Cut the kernels off some ears of fresh corn and spread them out on an oven tray. Dry-roast in an oven preheated to 160°C/Gas Mark 3 for about 20 minutes, to give a slightly smoky taste. Add to kidney beans and chopped tomato with an oil and vinegar dressing to make a salsa to serve with grilled meats or fish.
• Use cooked corn in a frittata (see Spinach and Crab Frittata), together with kidney beans, grated cheese and diced red onion.
• For a simple sweetcorn soup, cook 1 chopped onion and 2 crushed garlic cloves in a little butter until soft, then add the kernels from 3 cobs of corn and cover with a mixture of half water and half milk. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until the corn is tender, then purée and pass through a sieve. Reheat and adjust the seasoning. Stir in a little Red Pepper and Chive Butter (see Corn on the Cob with Red Pepper and Chive Butter) or sprinkle with the toppings from Dev-Mex Pumpkin Soup.
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