{"id":11926,"date":"2011-06-27T15:59:49","date_gmt":"2011-06-27T19:59:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/?p=11926"},"modified":"2016-11-10T18:44:57","modified_gmt":"2016-11-10T18:44:57","slug":"boil-corn-on-the-cob","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/boil-corn-on-the-cob\/","title":{"rendered":"Boil Corn On The Cob and You Lose"},"content":{"rendered":"

Boil corn on the cob and you\u2019ll notice the corn tastes like water and the water like corn.<\/strong> If you think about it, you can make a flavorful vegetable broth by simmering onions, carrots, and celery in water. So, are you trying to cook your corn or make corn broth?<\/p>\n

\"\"Boiling is a moist conductive cooking process. <\/strong> This means that your corn is in direct contact with the heat, in this case it\u2019s boiling water. The flavorless liquid takes on the characteristics of the item you\u2019re cooking. Also, the cooked item absorbs bland water, affecting the taste of your fresh ingredients.<\/p>\n

Most delicate vegetables are better cooked in an indirect fashion.<\/strong> This means that the source of the heat doesn\u2019t directly touch the food being cooked. This is the best way to retain color, texture, flavor, and nutrition. If you enjoy healthy cooking, then local fresh ingredients are important.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t boil corn on the cob. Steaming is the best way to cook corn.<\/strong> Steaming is an indirect moist cooking method where the heat source is simmering liquid from below. Boil corn on the cob if you want, but you\u2019re losing flavor, texture, color, and nutrition over steaming.<\/p>\n

Boiling is to steaming as saut\u00e9 is to roasting. <\/strong> When something is placed in a saut\u00e9 pan, it\u2019s accepting heat directly from the source, just like boiling, except saut\u00e9 is a dry method of cooking. If you were to place something in the oven, it will cook by the indirect application of hot air, similar to the moist air used to steam corn on the cob.<\/p>\n

The best way to cook the summer\u2019s bounty is in a large pot with a small amount of water<\/strong> that will not actually touch the corn because they\u2019re suspended above by a steamer basket or wire rack. This way, flavors and nutrition don\u2019t leach into the cooking liquid, making corn soup and watery corn.<\/p>\n

Now, you\u2019ve kept the integrity of seasonal fresh corn in tact. <\/strong> But what if you have more fresh corn than you can possibly eat before it goes bad?<\/p>\n

Freezing corn on the cob enables you to store the flavor of summer for later use.<\/strong> Summer is fantastic for fresh ingredients, but eating seasonally presents a small problem. Many fresh fruits and vegetables have a very short season, yielding great amounts of ingredients, but too much to eat at once.<\/p>\n

Fresh corn tastes best directly from the field,<\/strong> but when you\u2019ve got more corn than your family can eat in a week, summer must be preserved.<\/p>\n

All things that grow in dirt must be \u2018sanitized\u2019 before freezing, canning or storing. <\/strong> Bacteria in the soil can cause illness when allowed to grow over long periods of time. Freezing doesn\u2019t kill many types of bacteria, but high temperatures do. So, before sending our corn to the deep freeze, it\u2019ll have to be shocked first.<\/p>\n

Shocking vegetables means cooking very briefly in water or steam,<\/strong> then plunging the item into an ice water bath to stop the cooking immediately. The purpose is not to cook the corn, but to kill any residual bacteria before storage.<\/p>\n

\"freezingFreezing corn on the cob means removing the kernels from the cob. <\/strong> You can\u2019t freeze the entire cob, and there\u2019s not much reason to. The ingredient you\u2019re trying to preserve is the corn kernels, not the cob.<\/p>\n

After the shocked cobs are fully cooled and dried<\/strong>, they\u2019re stood on end and a chef\u2019s knife will cut a straight line downward behind the kernels but in front of the cob to cut all the flavorful parts off for freezing.<\/p>\n

Then, simply gather the corn that\u2019s been removed from the cob and store in plastic bags for the freezer.<\/strong> Sometimes, I\u2019ll toast the corn in a cast iron skillet for use in Mexican or Latin dishes, or for a flavorful vegetable salad.<\/p>\n

A fresh ear of corn is one of the fantastic flavors of summer, but it can be quickly ruined<\/strong> by improper cooking and storage. Boil corn on the cob and you\u2019ve left the flavors of summer in your pot of water. Steaming and then freezing corn on the cob is the best way to have seasonal flavors any time of the year, no matter what you\u2019re cooking.<\/p>\n

Enjoy the Flavor and Nutrition of Fresh Foods<\/h1>\n