How to determine what is corn. How to boil corn on the cob. Correct cooking technology. Cooking corn in different ways: cooking time

Fertility 12.01.2022

Fertility

In order for boiled corn to meet the expectations of your taste buds, you need to choose the right cobs in the store or at the market. The most delicious ones are sold until the end of August. Later ones may be overripe and tough.

You can check the age of corn by crushing one grain. A white liquid resembling milk will flow from the young seeds.

Young corn with grains of milky white or light yellow color is ideal for cooking. The cob should be soft to the touch, but at the same time elastic. The grains should fit tightly together and be approximately the same size.

Pay special attention to the leaves. Good corn is green, dense, and fresh.

The perfect cob / butimhungry.com

You should not buy corn without leaves. Perhaps the seller deliberately removed them to hide the poor quality of the product from you.

How to cook corn on the stove

Boil water in a saucepan and put the corn in it. There is no need to remove the leaves: when cooked, they will give the corn additional flavor and juiciness. But it’s better to get rid of the stigmas. The cobs should be the same size so that they cook at the same time.

Young corn is cooked for 20–25 minutes, mature corn for at least 2 hours.

To speed up the cooking process, you can soak old corn in water for 2-4 hours beforehand. The grains will soften and cook faster.

Towards the end of cooking, remove a sample from the dish: use a fork to pry up one grain and bite into it. If it is soft and juicy, the corn is ready. Drain the water, close the pan tightly with a lid and wrap in a towel. Wait 10–15 minutes. This evaporation makes the corn more delicate in taste.

Remove the leaves from the finished hot corn and serve. Salt and butter - to taste.

How to cook corn in the microwave

Clean the corn and soak in cold water for 1 hour. Then put it in a plastic bag, pour 2 tablespoons there clean water room temperature. Tie the bag tightly and poke a couple of small holes in it to allow steam to circulate. Place the cobs in a bowl and place it in the microwave. Cook for 15 minutes on maximum power.

You can cook it even faster. Wash the cobs, remove leaves and fibers. Wrap the corn tightly in a paper towel soaked in water and place on a plate. Select maximum power and place the cereal in the oven for 5 minutes. All! The corn is ready.

Remove the corn from the microwave using tongs; it will be very hot.

How to cook corn in a slow cooker

Remove fibers and leaves from the cobs and wash thoroughly. Pour water into the multicooker to the maximum mark, place the corn inside. If the whole cob does not fit into the bowl, cut it into several pieces. Select high pressure mode and set the timer for 15 minutes. At the end of cooking, take out the corn, let it dry a little, season with salt and oil to taste.

How to cook corn in a pressure cooker

Clean the corn from all excess and wash. Place the cobs (whole or chopped) in the bowl of a household appliance. Cook the corn on high power if the pressure cooker is electric, or on medium heat if the pressure cooker is mechanical. Cooking time is from 10 to 40 minutes depending on the age of the cobs.

Eat the corn hot immediately after cooking. When cooling, the grains lose their juiciness and harden.

How to cook corn in the oven

Grease a deep baking dish butter. Place the corn, washed and cleared of leaves and stigmas, there. Pour warm boiled water so that the cobs are half in it. Cover the pan with a sheet of foil. Place the corn in an oven preheated to 180°C for 40 minutes if the corn is young, and for 120 minutes if the cobs are mature. Add salt to the finished dish.

Now it’s the end of summer and a purely summer delicacy has appeared on the streets - boiled corn. Personally, the sight and smell of boiled corn makes me salivate. I want to, I can’t! This is connected with the best childhood memories, when my mother and father and I went to the sea and my parents always bought me corn. That’s how it’s connected in memory - sea, sun, corn. Therefore, as soon as young corn cobs appear on sale, I buy, cook, eat and enjoy.

How to cook corn - recipe

You need to choose young corn, so that its grains are not bright yellow, but very light; they will turn yellow during cooking. That's why boiled corn remains a summer delicacy. The imported corn that is sold in supermarkets all year round is overripe and will become tough after cooking.

We clean the corn cobs from leaves and corn silks (thin hairs).

Place half of the leaves on the bottom of the pan.

If your dish is spacious enough, then place the whole cobs on the leaves, and if whole cobs don’t fit, then break them in half.

Cover the top of the corn with the remaining leaves and pour cold water and put it on fire. As soon as it boils, reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer the corn over low heat until the water simmers slightly, but does not boil.

You will have to cook the corn for a very long time, at least 3 hours if it is completely “milk”, but usually about four to four and a half hours if it is well ripe.

As you yourself understand, over such a long time the water can completely boil away more than once, therefore, when we see that the water has noticeably decreased, we heat the water in another bowl and add it so that the cobs are covered with water.

After three hours of cooking, you can begin to taste readiness. You can determine whether the corn is cooked by trying to pierce the kernels with a fork. In properly cooked corn, the kernels are easily pierced and even burst.

We take the cobs out of the water, place them on plates, and sprinkle with coarse salt. Cooled corn is no longer as tasty as hot corn, so if you have already cooked it and your loved ones have not yet gathered, wrap the bowl with corn in a warm blanket. In this form it cools down very slowly and you can please your household.

Ready boiled corn on a plate

Well, now you know how to cook corn. I hope you find this knowledge useful.

Bon appetit!

How to cook corn

Young corn

Already at the end of July, the first pale golden ears of corn appear on the markets of Central Russia, which is sold by enterprising grandmothers with large, tightly wrapped buckets. And when the treasured lid opens for the next buyer, such The inviting smell of boiled corn is impossible to resist! You run, sniffing where they sell it?! Then, burning with greed, you take the hot cobs out of the hot bucket... you don’t even need salt. Just pick up corn... a lot and quickly. And enjoy. Nibbling its tender sweet grains from the cob.

But not every housewife produces soft corn. And not all corn needs to be cooked for a long time. Today we will tell you how to choose delicious corn and how to cook it correctly.

How to choose delicious corn

Ears of young table corn

Friends, the best corn is young, table varieties. It cooks quickly and turns out to be the softest, juiciest and most delicious.

The color of young corn is light yellow.
In size it can be small, short, or long.
The grains of young corn have not yet grown and do not fit very tightly together; there is still space between them. On the cob of mature corn (which takes longer to cook and has a tougher taste), the kernels are already bursting and they feel cramped.

In any case, try a kernel of corn before buying - don’t be shy, pick it off the cob. If the corn is young, when you bite into it, the grain will turn out to be soft and juicy; it has not yet become starchy and contains a lot of moisture. If it’s hard, then either the corn is old and hard, or you came across not a table variety of corn, but a fodder variety of corn.

Feed corn is distinguished by dark yellow cobs with hard kernels. Although it is edible, it is still called aft and as intended by the breeders, it is grown for livestock feed, and not for human nutrition. You can eat feed corn, but it will take an infinite amount of time to cook.

Feed corn on the cob. Photo: elsoms.com

Corn storage time

Fresh corn on the cob can be stored for several days in a cool place or in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator.

It is better not to store boiled corn, but to eat it immediately (at least the next day). Cold cobs are not as tasty, and they dry out and become stale, and the aroma is no longer the same.

Cooking corn on the cob at home!

How to cook corn correctly

Remove leaves and panicles from corn cobs. Wash.
Place in cold unsalted water. There should be quite a lot of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat slightly and cook corn cobs until softened.
Remove corn from water. Cool slightly, sprinkle with salt. And enjoy its wonderful taste!

How long to cook corn

Boil young corn for 10-15 minutes.
Cooking time for feed or old corn can range from 1.5 to 3 hours.

How to tell when corn is ready

To find out if the corn is ready, you need to pry a kernel with a fork, pick it off the cob and taste it. If it is soft, you need to remove the corn from the water. She's ready.

If the grain is hard, cook the corn further.

Boiled corn cobs

How to Serve Boiled Corn

Gourmets suggest not just sprinkling salt on the cobs and rubbing it in (well, you probably know how delicious it is to feel that juicy salty moisture when you bite the kernels off the cob?!)... they grease the corn cobs with butter, and some even sprinkle with grated cheese.

Boiled corn

In Greece, I tried boiled corn in oil, which was then dried and lightly fried. These bright yellow cobs were served wrapped in green corn leaves and a red napkin. Bright, nothing to say. That's why it's tempting. But it tastes very dry... I don’t understand why it needs to be dried further. It’s tough, I want to wash it down with something.

Boiled cobs are very tasty and juicy. They are healthy and appealing to children and adults. The fruits of the crop contain vitamins A, B9, C. Being a source of fiber, it has a beneficial effect on digestion. Due to the high content of dietary fiber in the vegetable, its grains take a long time to chew, which leads to rapid saturation. The fruits of the plant are boiled in water. Juicy grains are eaten on the cob or separated from the inflorescence and added to salads, soups, and cereals.

How to cook corn?

1. Cleaning the cobs.

The fruits of the plant are freed from leaves and panicles, rotten or unripe grains are inspected and removed. To prevent vegetables from becoming moldy, when purchasing cobs, give preference to those with fresh stalks. Don’t throw away good leaves and tendrils. They will come in handy later.

2. Selecting cookware for cooking.

The process of preparing the plant takes a long time. To prevent the water from boiling away completely during this period, use a saucepan or other container with a closed lid - a multicooker, an electric kettle, a cauldron. It is better to choose dishes that are deep, wide and thick-walled. It's good if you don't have to break the cobs. They may lose juice and taste.

In order for the corn to retain its nutritional properties during cooking, it is cooked over low heat, at a temperature of 200-250°.

3. Laying the cobs.

Place the leaves of the plant at the bottom of the cooking container. We place the cobs on them. We also place leaves and tendrils on top of the inflorescences and on the sides.

4. Filling with water.

The liquid must be added so that it completely covers the fruits of the plant. It's good to leave some excess water to boil off.

How do you know when it's time to harvest?

The main difficulty in the harvesting process is the correct determination of the time of ripening of the cobs. It depends on several factors:

growing season of a particular variety;
climatic features of the region;
timing of planting;
seasonal weather conditions.

In addition, it also matters how you plan to use the crop: get seeds for sowing, make popcorn from the grains, or eat the cobs fresh. In the first two cases, the cobs are collected at the stage of biological ripeness, and only milk corn is suitable for boiled and raw consumption.

The onset of milk ripeness can be determined by the following signs:

the grains have a light yellow, sometimes creamy white hue, they are very juicy and soft;
the leaves wrapping the cob are still green and very difficult to separate;
the panicles at the ends of the cobs are just beginning to darken, becoming light brown at the very tips;
Inside the grain there is white milk, which squirts out when pressed.

Biological ripeness occurs at the end of the growing season and is characterized by the following external signs:

the color of the grains becomes honey-yellow, and sometimes orange, and their shell hardens;
when pressed, the juice stops coming out, and inside you can feel the starch that replaced it;
the outer leaves on the cob dry out and become like parchment;
the tassel crowning the fruit becomes intensely brown and dry.

How to collect cobs for fresh consumption

If the harvest time is correctly determined, then the cobs collected at the stage of milky ripeness will be distinguished by the tenderness and sweet taste of the grains. Collecting them is not difficult at all.

The readiness of the cobs can be determined by their position: they should deviate from the stem and take an almost horizontal position.
Don't harvest all the corn at once. Start picking the cobs closest to the top of the plant first. Usually they are the ones that ripen faster.
Check before collecting whether the panicle is dry enough. If it has a reddish tint and is wet to the touch, this means that the corn has not yet reached the stage of milky ripeness.
Feel the cob to make sure it is completely filled with grains. If its tip still has a pointed shape, you need to wait to clean it until it becomes blunt and rounded.
If you are not sure about the ripeness of the cobs, inspect the grains by pulling apart the leaves. If they are completely white, and the juice released is clear, it means that the corn is not yet ready to be eaten. Too bright the color of the grains and thick milky-white juice indicate that you have already missed the peak of milk ripeness.
Remember that missing harvest time is just as undesirable as picking fruit too early. Overripe corn will lose much of its juiciness and sugars, which will turn into starch.
To separate the cob from the stem, just squeeze it tightly with your hand and turn it around its axis. Ripe corn should be picked without problems and without the use of additional cutting tools.
The conversion of sugar into starch occurs very quickly, so it is advisable to consume the collected cobs within the first day after collection, while they retain their excellent taste.
You can slow down the process of sugar loss by using lower temperatures. That is why it is better to pick corn in the cool morning hours and store it in the refrigerator, covered with a damp cloth. This will keep it sweet for a whole week.

How to collect cobs for popcorn

To obtain corn for popcorn, special popping varieties are planted. But the right variety is absolutely not enough. It is also necessary to correctly prepare the grown cobs, guided by several rules.

Corn for popcorn is harvested at the stage of biological maturity, after waiting until the leaves and stems turn yellow and dry, and the panicles take on an intense brown tint.
Do not allow the crop to fall under early frosts. Exposure to low temperatures will make the cobs unfit for consumption.
Harvest ripe corn by simply breaking it off from the dried stalk, without using cutting tools.
To make popcorn, corn is dried so that the inside of the grain remains partially moist. Ideal humidity should be between 12 and 14%.
The cobs are freed from leaves, and then hung or laid out in one layer in a warm room with good ventilation for 1–1.5 months.
You can determine the readiness of the corn by periodically separating small portions and heating them in a frying pan. If the grains begin to open fully, then they are ready and the crop can be moved for storage to a cooler place, without access to sunlight.