Corn on the Cob

Serves up to 4

4 ears fresh corn, shucked and desilked (see note below)
cold water

Add water to a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add corn, and cover. Let sit 7 minutes. Corn will be fully cooked at 7 minutes, but can remain in the water for quite a long time after that.
Note: As soon as corn is picked, sugars in the kernels start converting to starches. Thus, the fresher the corn, the better.
Note 2: Do not add salt to the water; it can cause the kernels to toughen.
Corn can also be cooked on the grill. Leave the husks on, soak the ear of corn in water for a few minutes and place it directly on the grill. Cook until the husks start to turn black.

For sweet corn, add sugar to the water when you soak it.
An easy way to cook unhusked corn is in the microwave. it has the dual benefit of making the de-husking and de-silking easier, and tasting wonderful.

Remove the *thick* outer layers of the husk. As soon as you see the lighter green past the first layer or two, stop. You want plenty of husk here, because it's what keeps the heat and moisture inside and acts like a steamer.

For a fresh, average ear of corn, microwave it two to three minutes, turn over, and repeat. Exceptionally large ears, under-ripe ears, or ones not so fresh, may need a bit longer. Do not microwave past eight or nine minutes. if it takes this long, it's not going to be worth eating.

Let cool just enough to handle. The husk and almost *all* the silk will peel off beautifully. None of the trying to pick out stubborn strands of silk that happens with uncooked corn.

Add butter, salt, and enjoy.

If you find it undercooked, you can put it in the microwave, covered with a wet paper towel, and microwave up to a minute more on each side. If the towel is not wet enough, however, the corn will just dry out.

After cooking, there are several possibilities for serving corn on the cob.

The ideal corn, being extremely fresh should be just sweet and delicious enough that nothing in the way of seasoning is necessary. In this case, simply chomp down and enjoy!

Sometimes, your corn is just a little too starchy to be sweet enough. In this case, the "classic" solution to the seasoning problem is the good ol' butter and salt. By coating the cob with butter, an adhesive layer is created, allowing the sodium chloride to stick... Simply delicious!

Here's my personal favorite. Serve the corn and provide on the table a tray of lime wedges as well as a dish of paprika - hopefully the good, high quality kind! While it might sound odd, when the corn is coated with lime juice and subsequently smothered in the paprika, the result is unbelievably fantastic!

As a final note, there is nothing that can improve a corn on the cob experience like a good toothpick provided at the close of the meal.

One sweetcorn cob per person, husked and silked.
Paprika
Black pepper
Salt

Grease a sheet of tinfoil with butter. Dust liberally with paprika, black pepper and salt. Roll up corn in it. Roast for fifteen minutes at a hundred and ninety degrees. Eat with hands.


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Discovered in the latter half of my final year at Leeds University, this was the food of choice for eating after a workout, along with protein shakes and fried noodles.

Part of Devilfloss' Vegetarian Cookbook: A Simple and Accurate Guide To The Revolution

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