SWEETCORN

It used to be gospel: you must eat sweetcorn the day it is picked, preferably within hours. From the moment it is picked, its sugars begin to turn to starch. In just 6 hours at room temperature, corn loses up to 40 per cent of its sugars. Sweetcorn is still best within hours of picking, but two new kinds have helped matters: ‘sugar-enhanced’ varieties convert sugar to starch more slowly and stay tender longer, and the gene in ‘super-sweet’ varieties makes them exceptionally sweet – too sweet for some.

Sweetcorn goes starchy faster when it is hot and dry. Farmers should pick in the early morning when the ears are cool from the previous night. Sweetcorn should be kept cool and moist, in wet baskets or sheets, at market. Do not allow it to get hot on the way home.

Yellow sweetcorn is most common in Britain, but it may also be white, bi-coloured, and even red. Bi-colour has mixed white and yellow kernels and tastes much like yellow. White sweetcorn is sometimes sweeter than yellow corn, but it has less corn flavour than yellow or bicolour. Sweet Nugget and Challenger are super-sweets; Tuxedo and Champ sugar-enhanced.

American Indians taught the colonists to plant corn and beans together, and to mix them in a dish called succotash. Americans eat succotash at Thanksgiving, which celebrates a probably apocryphal feast the Pilgrims threw for the Indians. It is a simple sauté of equal parts corn and lima or butter beans and a little parsley. If you can’t eat corn on the cob the day you buy it, it is still fine for cornbread, soups, and stir-fries.

SEASON
August, September, and early October.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Tight, green husk, with fresh ‘flags’, the green ribbon-like leaves. The top of the silk is brown and dry. The fresher the stem end, the better. Ear heavy for its size, evenly filled out from stem to tip. Ask when it was picked.

STORAGE
If the corn was sitting in the sun at market or got hot on the way home, dunk it in cold water for a minute to cool it. Keep it in a plastic bag in the fridge, with the leaves moist. Shuck just before cooking. Flavour and tenderness fade after 1–2 days.

MAKING THE MOST OF A SURPLUS
Corn freezes beautifully. Stand ear in a wide, shallow pan and slice down with a serrated knife, getting as much kernel as possible without hitting the cob. Freeze kernels in plastic bags.

CORN ON THE COB

1–2 ears sweetcorn per person
1 tsp flat-leaf parsley, chives, dill, tarragon or basil, finely chopped
1 tsp melted butter or olive oil per ear

Boil lots of salted water and cook the corn for 3–4 minutes. The fresher it is, the less cooking it needs.
Blend the herbs with the butter or oil and serve with the hot corn and lots of salt and pepper.
Variations: Garlic-in-Oil (see Basic Recipes) or Chilli Oil (see Peppers) are delicious with sweetcorn too.

PLUM & ROASTED SWEETCORN SALSA

The boxy little Habanero is the hottest chilli. Scotch Bonnet is a good substitute; both are fruity and go well with tropical dishes. If the plums are not very ripe or juicy, add a bit of honey or apple juice. Eat it with blue maize tortilla chips or shredded chicken stuffed in pitta.

SERVES 6-8

4 ears sweetcorn, husks and silk removed
1 tbsp olive oil (for corn)
½ red onion
½—¾ Habanero or Scotch Bonnet, finely chopped, seeds removed
8 ripe Victoria plums, halved
½ orange bell pepper, cut in strips
1 tsp best olive oil (for salsa)
1 tsp honey or 1 tbsp apple juice (both optional)

Heat the grill. Rub olive oil and salt all over the ears of corn.
Grill, turning as necessary until the kernels turn brown and the corn is soft. When the kernels are soft, cut them off the cob, leaving the tough white part on the ear but getting all the flesh.
Dice the onion and chilli in a food-processor. Add the plums and sweet pepper in chunks, pulsing briefly until they are pea-sized.
Mix with the corn, olive oil, honey or apple juice if using, and salt to taste. This tastes even better the next day.

CHILLI CORNBREAD

Cornbread is easy, quick, and amenable to variation. It can be sweet or savoury, dry or moist, light or rich. For a different texture, try fine or coarse polenta. Raw, cooked, and frozen sweetcorn work. There is no need to defrost frozen sweetcorn before using.

SERVES 8–10

250 g sweetcorn kernels
200 g polenta
175 g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil, or melted butter
350 ml milk (or half yoghurt, half milk)
2 tbsp honey
2 eggs
½–1 red chilli pepper or 1 green jalapeño, finely chopped, or 1–1½ tsp red pepper flakes
oil for frying-pan

A 28-cm ovenproof frying-pan is best for a crispy crust, but a baking tin works. If your frying-pan is smaller, bake any excess batter in a tin.
Set the oven to 200°C.
Mix the dry ingredients well.
If you want the heat of the chilli suffused throughout the cornbread instead of in little bites, soak the chilli in the olive oil for 20 minutes.
Whisk the wet ingredients, then add the corn and chillies.
Oil the pan and heat it in the oven until it is sizzling. This makes a crispy crust.
Pour the wet mixture into the polenta and stir in quickly. Ignore the odd lump: overbeating makes tough cornbread.
Pour it into the hot pan. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the top is golden, the sides are brown, and a cocktail stick comes out clean. Serve hot with butter or honey, or eat with black bean chilli, tomato soup or greens, such as mustard, dressed with oil.
Variations: To the basic recipe (no corn or chillies), add 4 tablespoons of honey or pure maple syrup, smoked bacon, sautéed onion, or grated cheddar. More polenta (225 g) and less flour (150 g) makes a coarser bread. Another 50 ml of milk makes it moister.