For many folks, it appears that summer is, happily, a very busy time of the year. Vacations to faraway places, road trips, outdoor activities like farmers markets, hitting the hills, Red Rocks. Anything, it often seems, just to get out of the home.
For me, summer is the simplest time of the year, the most focused, especially in the kitchen. I cannot remember, for instance, the last time that I turned on the oven. I don’t want to.
Over and again, a mere two foods find their separate ways to my plate: corn on the cob and the tomato sandwich. But only a certain sort of corn and only tomatoes that I grow myself.
“Olathe Sweet” sweet corn
Its full proper name is “Olathe Sweet” sweet corn. It wants you to get the point.
Olathe, midway between Delta and Montrose on Colorado’s Western Slope, is built on this corn. Olathe’s farms used to be big on barley and sugar beets, but in the late 20th century, demand fell precipitously for both. A crafty corn geneticist developed a strain of maize that he called “Olathe Sweet,” and it revived the town’s fortunes.
Its awesome deliciousness is a function of its place. The closer-to-the-sun mountain elevation combines with clear air to allow for unobstructed, intense and unrefracted light. Under such brightness, the sugar levels in the corn’s kernels maximize. Plus, the swing between very warm days and cool nights makes for a slow crescendo of flavor maturation. There’s no corn like it anywhere else for its balance of sweetness and deep flavor.
As a category, “sweet corn,” of which Olathe Sweet is just one strain, differs from “field corn.” A full 99 percent of all corn grown in the U.S. is field corn, destined for animal feed, ethanol production and other factory-made stuff such as cornstarch or high-fructose corn syrup.
A mere 1 percent of our corn is sweet corn — yes, true — eaten as a vegetable, out of hand off the cob or as freed kernels. (Botanically, corn isn’t a vegetable; it is both a grain and a fruit).
Did you know?
An ear of corn has one silk for each kernel.
A cob of corn has about 800 kernels, always in even-numbered rows.
An acre of corn consumes eight tons of carbon dioxide each growing season.
Corn (maize) is the second most-consumed grain on the planet.
Corn grows on every continent except Antarctica.
How to pick, store and cook sweet corn
When picking out an ear, it should feel hefty in your hand. Give it both a gentle squeeze and rub it up and down its length, feeling for cavities or bulges. Either is a sign of damage or spoilage; pick another ear.
Husks should feel moist, hug the ear and be a pleasant shade of light to dark green. Silks should be tan, golden or light brown. Avoid cobs with slimy black silks.
The most irritating thing that buyers of corn do is to peel back the husk in order to inspect the ear, especially near the tip. That is absolutely unnecessary and, moreover, is unkind because it ruins the ear for any subsequent buyer. You can inspect the top of the inner ear with your fingers alone: Gently feel with your fingertips around the silked end. The kernels should be plump and firm very close to or all the way to the tip.
It’s a given that freshly harvested corn always tastes best the day that you pick (or buy) it. However, you also may store it for a couple of days (up to three) in plastic bags in the coldest portion of the refrigerator, keeping its husks intact. Wrapping a paper towel around every third ear is a good way both to wick away moisture and to circulate air.
Cooking sweet corn
To microwave: This is a surprisingly effective way to “steam” corn on the cob. Assure that the ears are at or near room temperature, shaken of any refrigerator chill. Leave intact both husks and silks. If needed, slice off some of the stem ends so that the ears can spin on the turntable without striking any side of the microwave.
Zap on high for 3 minutes per ear, depending on thickness; for example, three ears equals 9 minutes. Cook only 2-3 ears at a time, laid side by side. When they’re done, slice off an inch from the stem end. With hands protected from the heat by toweling, grip the ear at the tapered, silked end and squeeze and pull. Both the husks and silks will slide right off.
To grill: Pull back husks just enough to remove the silk, then reposition husks. (Alternatively, you may leave silks intact; they easily slide off after cooking). Soak the ears in cool water for 20 minutes, then place on a hot grill. Cover, grill for 15-20 minutes, turning the ears every 5 minutes or so.
To boil: Husk ears and remove silks. Trim ends if needed to fit. Boil in rapidly boiling, salted water (no milk or sugar necessary) for 2-3 minutes for crisp kernels, up to 6 minutes for softer kernels.
The tomato sandwich
The simplest of recipes for the simplest — but most delicious — of summer sandwiches: Lightly toasted white bread (“brioche”-style is best), with 1/2-inch-thick slices of skinned homegrown (or farmer’s market heirloom) tomato, freshly ground black pepper, Hellman’s/Best Foods mayonnaise and, if in the mood, leaves of your garden’s basil.
That’s all. Gate to Heaven.
