Homage to Sweet Corn

Sweet corn is one of my favorite foods – something easily attributed to growing up in Iowa, but most likely because one of my uncles was a sweet corn farmer (before the days of GMO crops, thank you very much). As far back as I can remember, every summer when his harvest was at its peak, a weekend would be staked out on the calendar and dedicated to freezing enough corn to get us through the winter. My siblings and I were relegated to husking dozens upon dozens of ears of corn, a simple task that I still dread to this day. But the payoff was always worth it.

As an adult I’ve become a bit of a sweet corn snob, and refused to so much as sample the offerings at the markets in Chicago. Last summer my friend Amy who still lives in Iowa, and wholeheartedly understands my aversion to non-Iowa corn, graciously went to her local farmers’ market and bought me a carload of the best sweet corn she could find, drove six hours to deliver it, and even helped me shuck, cut, and freeze it all. Now that I live in North Carolina, my Iowa sweet corn days are O V E R. Every week at the local farmers’ market in Carrboro, I stalk past the sweet corn vendor, throwing sidelong glances at the throngs of people lined up to buy this corn of theirs. No way, I think to myself. I’ll just learn to live without. *Dramatic sigh*. I think we’ve established that I’m a teensy bit stubborn, but my curiosity finally got the best of me…and I have to admit, I was wrong. Oh, I am so happy I was wrong! It was some of the best sweet corn I’ve ever tasted, and I’m counting the hours until the next farmers’ market when I will buy as many ears as I can carry.

I missed the boat on canning tomatoes this year, but I will be freezing sweet corn all weekend long, and I can hardly wait! Pulling a bag of sweet corn from the frosty depths of the freezer, slowly coaxing it to melt, and then simmering it to perfection – it’s a winter ritual that I always look forward to. Nothing beats eating it fresh off the cob, and I’ve gone summers where I literally did so every day. But the stew I made last night reminded me that there are a million and one ways to prepare those glorious little golden kernels…and I will figure out as many of them as possible before next summer. The aforementioned stew was both sweet and savory, with sweet corn, sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, chickpeas…and a little dash of cinnamon and splash of maple syrup to round things out. You can find the recipe here.