Before the recent rains came, we hit a dry spell, just when our local corn crop was developing. As a result, many of the ears are smaller than usual, but that hasn’t affected their taste or sweetness.
It’s a good time for corn on the cob to accompany simple summertime suppers such as burgers or chicken on the grill. Or corn can be part of a plateful of local vegetables fresh from the fields. I can recall times when we ate only corn and tomatoes for supper when the two vegetables were in high season as they are right now.
We tend to think of corn as a starch, but it actually has a fair amount of nutrition. It consists of insoluble fiber, which puts it low on the glycemic scale, and contains many B vitamins and minerals including zinc, magnesium, copper, iron and manganese.
This is the time to think ahead to winter when you will dream of 90-degree days and fresh corn. Freezing corn now will give you the opportunity to enjoy summer’s corn on the days when you need to remember warm weather. Simply buy a few dozen ears from a local farm or farm market, husk them, then drop them into boiling water for two minutes. Pull them out, drop them into a sink full of ice water to stop the cooking process, then slice the corn kernels off the cob. Freeze the corn in freezer bags or boxes and you will be grateful this winter when you serve them as a side dish or in recipes such as these corn fritters from justataste.com:
3 cups corn kernels
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying
Sliced scallions, for serving
Sour cream or garlic aioli, for serving
1. In a large bowl, stir together the corn kernels, flour, sugar, baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
2. Stir in the eggs and heavy cream until the batter is well-combined.
3. Line a plate with paper towels. Coat the bottom of a large sauté pan with vegetable oil and place it over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, scoop 2- to 3-tablespoon mounds of the corn batter into the pan, spreading it lightly into a flat, circular shape. Cook the fritters for 2 to 3 minutes, then flip them once and cook them an additional 3 minutes until they’re golden brown and cooked through. Transfer the fritters to the paper towel-lined plate, season them immediately with salt and repeat the cooking process with the remaining batter, adding more oil to the pan as needed.
4. Garnish the corn fritters with scallions and serve them with sour cream or garlic aioli for dipping.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
