A few weeks ago, John and I sat down to a lunch of farm-fresh corn. It was the sweetest, crispest corn I’ve ever tasted.
Somewhere between my (literal) sighs of delight, John looked at me and said: “You should ask your readers how they eat corn.”
He doesn’t suggest polling readers very often, so let’s indulge him!
Do you start at the thick end or the thin end?
Do you go in a neat, straight line or circle around?
For the record — I go thick-to-thin and around. John goes thin-to-thick and also around.
We’re both on team butter, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. Perfection.
It’s your turn!
- How do you eat your corn: straight line or around in circles? Thick or thin end first?
- Do you slather it with butter and salt, or keep it plain?
- Bonus: do you prefer it on the cob, or shaved off into a salad or soup?
Header photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash
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corn is my favorite food after Kabocha! I prefer the hard kind, not the sweet corn, which is the only corn available in Brazil so I love them! I like just to eat them plain with salt sometimes, I start in the middle! 🙂
The middle!!! That would never occur to me!
No preference on thick to thin end to start.
I do eat in a line though – eat a few rows, rotate and eat a few more rows until the cob is clean.
Generally just have them as is but won’t say no to a bit of butter melted over them.
Now my husband is completely different; he seems to eat his totally random and leaves half the kernels on the cob!!
My kids are like your husband. No rhyme or reason and half the corn is still there when they’re done *sigh*
I break corn on the cob into smaller pieces, so think and thick aren’t as noticeable on the same piece. I go left to right- rotate as needed. My family uses butter and salt, though plain is fine.
I live in a town surrounded ded by corn fields, but we actually don’t eat corn on the cob much; cooking it can be a pain. However, this summer I tried both the instapot and microwave methods, which are much easier than boiling. So I expect me corn appearances next year.
I’ve done the microwave method before and it worked well.
This is the “recipe” I follow every time!
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/perfect-corn-on-the-cob/
Congrats on discovering the ultimate sweet corn, Elisabeth! I start in the middle and go around, always with salt and butter – classic perfection.
Funny enough, Kai doesn’t like corn on the cob because of all the bits that get stuck in his teeth!
I love corn in any format – it’s great in salads, too!
Salt and butter. A classic for a reason!
I agree with Kai that it is annoying in one’s teeth, but worth the hassle of extra flossing for how delicious corn in season can be in this part of the world.
Lol – I love John. What a fun question. I have no preference for thick/thin side. And I have no preference for straight line vs around. I just go where the wind takes me! But I do LOVE butter, salt, and pepper on my corn. I also love it with lime juice, finely shredded cotija cheese, and either cayenne pepper or tajin. I love corn on the cob, fresh corn in my salads, or a salad where the corn is the shining star.
Love your whimsical attitude, Suzanne!
I feel like John would love all these added ingredients to give is a more international flair. It will surprise NO ONE that I will stick with butter and salt and pepper, thank you very much.
I love a good ear of sweet corn! Yum. Lots of salted butter, sometimes also pepper. I don’t think I eat it the same way all the time, though, in terms of direction?! I usually go left to right I suppose, then turn it…
I never really thought about how I ate my corn, it was instinctual. But as soon as my husband asked, I realized I always follow the same patter.
Agreed that lots of butter is key.
I haven’t had corn on the cob in a long time! It’s delicious- I just don’t usually get it. I think I go thick to thin, and I DEFINITELY go in straight lines. We’ll use vegan butter and salt… and now I’m craving corn : )
If you come to visit me during corn season, I will make sure it appears on the menu <3
I like it plain, or with butter. But we also like it with sour cream and chili powder, more like they do it in Mexico
Yummy! I don’t think I’ve ever tried it without just butter, salt, and pepper. But my husband would likely love it!
Thick to thin, straight line across, and then bing like a typewriter, back to the left for the next row. I’ve tried eating back across, right to left, and it just feels wrong. Aren’t humans funny? With plenty of butter, and salt.
It is funny how we are such creatures of habit. How did we decide what pattern to eat our corn in? From a parent? Have we always eaten it this way? Yet, without thinking about it, I always eat it the exact same way!
Lots of butter and salt are key for me. I’m surprised how many people have mentioned eating it plain. I mean…better for the heart, but NOT THE SOUL!
Sigh, my family doesn’t like corn so we almost never have it unless we’re visiting friends. I always add butter and salt, and always start at the thick end. From there what I’m feeling in the moment determines whether I eat around or across.
Living life on the edge.
Also, darn. I should have served you fresh, local corn 🙁 A missed opportunity. Next time you visit Nova Scotia.
I love corn on the cob, but my Husband is from Indiana where the corn is amazing when fresh, bought right off the truck, and so he is a little bit of a corn snob and refuses to eat it outside of Indiana. So we don’t have it as often as I would like, but we do eat it once in a while in the summer.
My big corn eating thing is that I like to eat it in very neat rows. I have this technique (and maybe most people do this, but no one in my family does this and I had to figure it out myself) where I eat in rows, but once I’m done a row, I rotate the corn upwards as I eat so that I next eat the next row down. And I kind of hook my bottom teeth betwen the row that I’m eating and the row below and then bit up so that the kernels come off cleanly. I can’t stand just chomping at the corn because I feel like so much corn gets left behind that way. I’m probably not describing it well, but iut’s very specific. And to my mind the only way to eat corn on the cob.
And definitely with lots of butter and salt and sometimes garlic powder.
Corn snob. Hilarious…and, also, I get it. Really good corn is REALLY good. Subpar corn is…not great.
I understand what you’re describing and I eat it similarly in terms of “hooking.”
We have not had corn on the cob in so long. Coach and I steer clear of corn – proof that we’re old and our digestion doesn’t like it. I eat from one skinny end in a straight row across and then rotate. Coach has fake teeth in the front from a childhood mishap, so he has to scrape it off. Yum, the butter. I always loved corn on the cob in the summer.
It can be hard on the digestion…but it’s so good!!!
I can see it being very hard to eat with false teeth!
I eat my corn from thick to thin in straight lines. We often have it plain, but if I have anything on it, then it’s butter.
On the cob only if I’m at home and can brush my teeth right afterwards. I hate corn stuck in my teeth. I roast mine in foil with butter, salt, and pepper. Yum!
I eat it in straight lines, from thick to thin.
Leftovers get cut off the cob and fried in a cast iron skillet the next night. Also yum.
The one hassle of corn on the cob is how it gets stuck in between my teeth.
Right now we have to cut corn off the cob for Belle because you can’t eat corn straight off the cob when you have braces!
John is so funny—what a question, but look at us, all eager to answer!! HAHA.
We rarely eat corn these days. I used to prepare it for the kids when they were young, and I believe we all ate it with butter, salt, and pepper. Now, if I were to eat corn, I would probably remove it from the husk and add it to a salad for a little crunch.
It is a lot less overall muss to cut it off (and doesn’t require nearly the amount of dental cleaning afterward)! Not quite a whimsical and fun, but maybe I’m getting too old for that anyway?!
I don’t eat corn on the cob (braces twice as a kid + TMJ for life + still having overcrowded bottom teeth makes it not so fun, lol), but this summer we fell in love with cutting it off the cob and making our version of Mexican street corn (I posted the recipe on my blog).