Ingredient of the month – Sweetcorn!
Some people plan their travels by the landmarks or historical monuments they want to visit. Me? I generally devise my international itineraries based on the food I want to eat! The latest ingredient to pop up on my culinary radar was sweetcorn in the States.
If you follow my blog, you might have noticed I recently embarked on what you could describe as a whirlwind-culinary-adventure in the USA. I was there in summer, and corn (in various forms) seemed to be a staple on most menus. Perfectly fine by me!
Fortunately for us corn lovers, sweetcorn came about after some trial and error on nature's behalf. These interesting (natural) genetic mutations in traditional field corn (also known as maize), resulted in the deliciously sweet golden grain that we know today. 9000 years of corn history, anyone?
Like most seasonal ingredients, sweetcorn is best consumed fresh. And this is not just a rule of thumb – you really do need to eat sweetcorn as fresh as possible, otherwise you’ll find it will go starchy and spoil. If you do need to store it, keep it out of the sun and in the fridge.
When choosing your sweetcorn at the market, let colour be your guide. Look out for lovely bright green husks, and avoid yellowing or slightly brown ones.
Corn cobs are easier to deal with once you've removed the husks – although some recipes call to leave a few layers of the husks on whilst grilling or steaming.
Tossed through salads, lightly boiled, or grilled and eaten straight off the cob (my favourite – lathered in butter and piping hot), corn is a pretty versatile ingredient, especially when you're preparing fuss-free summer dinners.
And since this
post is all about sweetcorn, of course I need to mention Mexican cuisine. Simple, fresh and colourful,
are bound to feature some form of delicious sweetcorn. For a quick salsa, toss together fresh corn kernels, diced avocado, tomatoes and red onion, stir through lime juice and olive oil, and season with salt to taste.
I think the lovely juicy flavours of sweetcorn go particularly well with seafood. Grilled corn and salmon on the barbecue, corn chowder, salsa as a side with calamari – there are boundless combinations.
Corn on the barbecue. Just add butter :)
Keep things simple and garnish with parsley or coriander
Interestingly enough, I've read that it’s best not to add salt to boiling water when cooking sweetcorn – try a pinch of sugar instead. You’ll find information and cooking tips here.
If you have a garden, you might like to try your hand at growing corn next spring. Here's an overview to get you started (wish I had enough space at my place).
And just a quick note on sourcing the healthiest corn around. I think it’s really important to try to source Certified Organic corn, just to make sure that the produce isn’t involved in the GMO sweetcorn issues.
My sweetcorn and courgette fritters with buttermilk dressing
Here are some recipe ideas:
My Sweetcorn and Courgette Fritters with Buttermilk Dressing
Lamb Burritos with Corn Salsa
Griddled Chicken and Corn on the cob salad
I like the look of the sweetcorn recipes on this blog
And for something a bit different… Sweetcorn Ice Cream (via Tasteologie)
