It all started at the Farmers’ Market on Sunday when I overheard an elderly man offer his personal advice to a woman who was buying corn, “You’re going to put some sugar in that water, right?” Her reply, “Oh, I always do.”
What? Sugar in the water with sweet Jersey corn? I had never heard of such a thing. Actually, on the advice of my Mother in Law, I stopped boiling my corn ages ago. I know this will shock you, but I cook my beautiful Jersey corn in the Microwave. (I heard those gasps.) Hey, don’t knock it until you try it.
But, the ol’ guy’s remark got me thinking, was I missing out on something here? I consulted with some of my followers on Twitter who were full of advice. Not only do some folks put sugar in the water, some even put milk. Heck, this recipe I found calls for milk, whipping cream, sugar and butter in the water. Sounds like creamed corn to me.
Then there were the purists, like Chef Mark Smith from the Tortilla Press in Collingswood, New Jersey who said. “You’d be crazy to add it to Jersey sweet corn, I think my mom did it with field corn in OH when we were poor.” Others insisted that grilling corn was THE ONLY way to eat Jersey corn. I decided to put several of these cooking methods to the test. (Don’t you do this kind of thing on a typical Monday night?)
The cooking methods we decided to test were straight boiling, boiling with a Tablespoon of sugar, Microwaving and Grilling over hard wood charcoal.
Corn was boiled for 8 minutes. Microwaved corn for 2 minutes per ear. The Grilled corn was soaked in the husks (after removing the silk) and grilled for half an hour.
I took one of the precooked Microwave pieces and threw that on the grill for a few minutes to test weather there was a short cut to the grilling technique.
Each family member received a plate with numbered pieces. They did not know how each piece was cooked. We added no butter or salt. 
There was no difference in taste between the corn cooked with sugar (#2) and the corn cooked without (#1). So the elderly man at the farmer’s market can save his sugar for his coffee. One of our more mature taste testers remarked that number three was sweeter than one and two. Number three was the Microwaved corn. He went on to say that number 4 was his favorite: the grilled corn. #5 was the microwaved then grilled corn which only resulted in over cooked corn.
The lesson learned from our little cook-off last night is the following.
Good corn is good corn. And fresh Jersey corn needs no help in the cooking process. If you enjoy a smokey flavor to your corn, grill it, but be careful not to over cook it or it will lose that juicy pop and will just become mealy. This is what happened to our grilled corn, it didn’t have the pop the boiled and microwaved versions had. We should have taken it off the grill sooner, but this is the tricky thing about grilling corn, knowing when it is done and not over done.
For me personally, Microwaving is the most convenient and reliable way to cook corn, especially if you are entertaining a lot of people. It takes two minutes per ear vs. half an hour on the grill. For weeknight corn on the cob, the former is a no brainer. One of my followers on Twitter says she microwaves her corn in the husks. I’ve never tried that, but it makes perfect sense. She says the corn steams in the husks and the silk pulls away very easily after cooking. I will have to try this method in the very near future. Another short cut to getting that smokey flavor is to use smoked salt on your corn.
So, what is your preferred method for cooking corn? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment below.
Good post! I certainly agree that the better the corn, the better the taste, no matter what the method (unless you over cook it). In fact, if you get a REALLY good piece of corn, you can eat it raw. Truly.
I steam my corn. I’ve also microwaved in the husk. I prefer steaming, if I have the time.
ten years ago i was at a farm market in florida buying corn. the vendor told me that if it wasn’t sweet enough to put some sugar in the water. she was young and missing TEETH. needless to say we didn’t fllow her advice, but still joke about it when i make corn. i steam it and eat it plain. http://www.babettesnjfeast.com/
I’d never heard of the sugar in the water trick either..Also, I know some people who grill the corn while still in the husks but I have never tried it
Leora, I’ve never heard of eating it raw lol..interesting!
I’ve heard of sugar in the water when boiling, but never felt NJ corn needed it. It’s sweet enough on it’s own! Great test, and thanks for sharing the results!
When grilling corn here is a good way with great taste: Soak corn in water, make sure to pull off silk and then place a piece of raw bacon around the corn, then pull husk back up and twist top. Throw on the grill to cook untill done. Then pull off husk and remove bacon and eat corn. So yummy!