This time of year, the sweet corn is good enough to eat... raw. Yes, that's right. Don't bother cooking your sweet corn, or, for that matter, even cutting it off the cob.
I've had raw sweet corn salads, but I had never just eaten an entire ear of sweet corn totally raw. Not until last week, that is, when I ate this luscious, crisp ear of corn up at The Chef's Garden in Huron, Ohio. (Look for a full tour sometime in the next week or two — it's quite a place!) It was so sweet — it tasted like milky corn candy.
And it's a good reminder: When corn is this good, you don't need to cook it.
Do you ever eat raw sweet corn straight off the cob? What else do you do with raw corn?
Related: A Dozen Ways to Enjoy Summer Sweet Corn
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This is my favorite way to eat corn! I used to work at a farmer's market/on a farm, and for lunch I would walk into the fields and grab a couple tomatoes and an ear of corn and eat it just as it was!
Another use for raw corn is in salad form - cut the kernels off the cob, throw in a oil-based dressing, some scallions, diced green pepper... the usual. It's really delicious.
I do this frequently as well. When corn is this good and fresh, cooking is just unnecessary.
I've always thought corn tasted better--crispier and juicier--raw, but I think when I was little my mom told me you would get sick or something if you ate it uncooked...which, now that I think of it, doesn't really make much sense. I'll stop surreptitiously stealing a few raw kernels and enjoy freely now!
I actually haven't cooked corn all summer. I just strip it of the cob. I toss the kernels on a green salad, or mix the corn with tomatoes and onions for a lovely little salad. So very good.
I totally agree - raw corn is delicious. I miss Ohio corn! Virginia just doesn't cut it.
oh! I am so glad other people do this! I mentioned loving raw corn at a bbq earlier this summer and everyone looked at me like i was nuts...
Now that I live in California, I long for the Ohio corn of my childhood. Ironically, my mother, still in Ohio, cooks the <bleep> out of corn.
I love raw corn and even when I cook it, it's really just warmed rather than cooked.
I only eat corn on the cob raw. My family thinks I am weird, so I trim extra off all of their cobs before cooking ;)
Just having moved to Ohio from Los Angeles, the hubby and I thought it would be funny to plant corn in our garden... Dude, I don't know what it is about the corn out here but my goodness is it wonderful, we have already eaten two ears raw and its awesome!
My favorite way to eat corn is raw! I told my friends that I don't cook it, and you would have thought I told them I eat dirt. They had this incredibly confused look, like it was inedible if not cooked! So funny what we do out of habit. Wish more people would try raw foods. They really can be delicious!
I usually cut the corn off the cob, and toss into my summer salad of baby spinach, fresh tomatoes and avocado. Season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of lemon olive oil. YUM!
I also tend to eat it right off the cutting board, too! So delicious.
Oh, I forgot to mention... I've heard from several sources that raw corn can be digested by the body unlike cooked corn which we all know tends to show up well... you know where.