Corn/Maize: Sourcing, Prep, Cooking

[Priscilla]

Do you think Korn ever takes off those enormous superhip shades?

I hope, IhopeIhopeIhope, that Korn NEVER EVER removes his shades.  Such commitment, I submit, is very nearly the quintessence of superhiposity.

Priscilla

[Priscilla]

...am i the only one who is completely impressed with the dubbing into english?  the conversation is extremely natural, the characters are extremely developed.

You are correct, Tommy, the overdub performances are absolutely brilliant.  Kitchen Stadium-preferred pronounciations, e.g. the ubiquitously invoked FWAgra, have polluted my personal lexicon.  Impressively consistent and respectful work by the actors, I think, and they're obviously working from an excellent, sensitive translation.

Priscilla

[tommy]

thanks priscilla.  also curious is the use of what i would consider very american euphemisms and turns of phrase (although i can't think of any for examples).  i can't imagine that this stuff is literal from japanese.  and still, they weave it together seamlessly and naturally.  

and yes, i definitely put a lot more emphasis on the first syllable of foie gras these days, more as a playful nod to IC rather than thinking it makes me sound sophisticated...or japanese for that matter.    

[Ron Johnson]

I thought that potatoes were vegetables too.

Korn:  first there is the loud part, then there is the quiet part, then they play the loud part again.  Brilliant, really.

[Liza]

Apparently, and this is seemingly serious, the translators are trying to get at the 'tone' of the speakers, and are really trying to be accurate AND sensitive.

Check out www.ironchef.com, the UNofficial website.

[Priscilla]

Charlton Who? Oh, the guy the 1920's dance is named after right?

Careful!  He's still the NRA's prez, isn't he?  

(Taking the opportunity to wish you a very happy International Worker's Day.)

Priscilla

[B Edulis]

I remember once when Kaga was declarin a tie. The subtitle said was something about a rematch but you could clearly hear Kaga say "tie bleaka." Leaving aside for the moment the question of why Kaga was subtitled while all others were dubbed, why would the translater take a perfectly good Japlish word and retranslate it into English.

Oh, and I think the culinary critic woman, Asako Kishi, is one of the creators of the Iron Chef program.

And what about quorn? Despite its name, it's a fungus that's used as a meat/protein analog.

[Liza]

As far as I know, Kaga has it in his contract that he is not dubbed.

[B Edulis]

And rightly so! All hail Chairman Kaga!

I will now go commit seppuku because my comment was off subject. I expect all others to do so as well.

[Haggis]

This is one of my favorite warm weather side dishes. The best rendition of it I have ever tasted was at Ed Schoenfeld's Cafe Marimba back in the mid 80s. It wasn't even on the menu, but accompanied many entrees as a freebie. You received a half cob sliced lenghtwise. The charcoal/carmelization factor was almost as tasty as biting into a well-seared steak, yet what you actually tasted was wonderfully sweet corn. In addtion to being the tastiest, it was also the least dry piece of grilled corn I have ever had. How was the moisture maintained so well? I suspect it was grilled only for a short time, and cooked some other way first. I am hoping Mr. Schoenfeld will be kind enough to divulge the recipe if he still remembers how his chef back then did it. Would also like to know if charcoal is better than gas for this dish. I could swear it tasted of charcoal, but a top notch restaurant gas grill may have imparted a similar taste using wood chips. Even more so if meats were grilling within close proximity, as they doubtless were.

[elyse]

Never had it there, but there are several techniques you may want to try. First, you must use the freshest corn you can find. Corn begins to lose it's sweetness and turns to starch the second it's picked, so farmer's markets are probably the best place to find it. Then, there are some people who bend back the husk, strip the silk, put the husk back, and soak the corn for a while. Some soak the corn as it comes. And I don't bother with the stripping or soaking. I just buy the corn and throw it on the grill. I can't say how long I leave them on. Till they're done? Till the husk's blackened? I have no idea why people take the silk off before roasting. Hope this helps.

[Ruth]

You have to strip the corn if you want caramelization. I just brush them with olive or peanut oil, season them and grill them on a very hot grill until they are browned more or less evenly. It takes only a few minutes. Sounds like a good idea to split them to stop them from rolling around on the grill. I shall try that.

[jackal10]

Never had it there, but there are several techniques you may want to try.  First, you must use the freshest corn you can find.  Corn begins to lose it's sweetness and turns to starch the second it's picked, so farmer's markets are probably the best place to find it.

Firstly use the right varity of corn. You need a "supersweet" variety.

Secondly time from picking really does matter. Seconds are vital. Build the BBQ next to the corn patch, or run from the garden to the kitchen, where the pan is already boiling or the grill hot.

If you can't get them picked within minutes, frozen is the best substitute, since the better ones are, like peas, blast frozen as soon as picked.

I prefer to cook them in the cobs, since this steams them and I don't like the parched corn effect, YMMV.

Edited May 4, 2003 by jackal10 (log)

[elyse]

Mine caramelize jes fine without stripping or oiling. Try it both ways.

[freefaller12k]

I strip the silks and soak before grilling. For an added kick, try rolling the ears in dry malt (available from home brew shops) after soaking then pull husks back over.

[MatthewB]

I can't remember where I came across a tip to soak sweet corn in milk before grilling. But it seems to work well.

So, questions . . .

Do you soak sweet corn in milk? If so, what do you think about it?

What is it about milk that brings out the sweetness in corn?

[awbrig]

Never heard of this...but if it works Ill try it this summer...

So do you grill your corn with the husks on? Is the milk able to get inside the husks when you are soaking them?

Edited June 2, 2003 by awbrig (log)

[MatthewB]

Never heard of this...but if it works Ill try it this summer...

I did it last night because it obviously was not local & in-season corn.

The SO--a former farmgirl who sold & shucked corn at the farmer's market--thought there was a noticable improvement. (But she tends to humor me.)

[stagis]

Corn is to be purchased from a farmstand. The aforesaid farmstand must have its parking lot hacked out of a cornfield. At minimum, you should be able to see the corn from the stand.

Farmington, CT. The cornstand (excuse me: the farmstand) of choice is the one on the Farmington Flats at the Y intersection. Period. Failing that, Krell Farms up on Unionville Avenue - they buy their corn from the stand down on the flats.

Corn should be boiled. 6 minutes after putting into boiling water, take it out. Serve with salt. If it needs milk or butter to taste good, don't invite me.

Grilled corn has its merits. When I've done that, I soak it in water for a while, peel back the husks, strip out the silk, salt and butter 'em (ignore the previous paragraph - grilled corn is an aberration), put the husks back on, maybe tied with a piece of husk and cook.

When I've grilled corn with the Scouts, none of the above means anything. Toss the unmodified cobs directly onto coals. Turn several times and eat. The silk will burn out.

When corn's in season, I buy it 2-3 times a week, 2 dozen at a time. Whatever's not eaten gets cut off the cob and frozen.

[joler]

prepare grilled corn as noted above only instead of butter and salt, wrap each ear in a slice of bacon and sprinkle with chili powder. yum.

[MatthewB]

I'm down with ya, stagis & joler.

I nearly always cook in-season. However, last night I wanted grilled corn. Obviously, out of season & picked up at the supermarket. That's why I used the milk soak.

Blasphemy? Perhaps. Ill-conceived? Probably.

But given my recklessness, what is it about a milk soak that brings out the sweetness when you're cooking sweet corn out of season?

[fresco]

MatthewB,

Although corn is not specifically addressed, it would seem from this excerpt from a piece in the Boston Globe magazine that milk has tenderizing properties:

``Milk is a great tenderizer,'' says Shirley Corriher, author of CookWise (William Morrow), which explains the science and chemistry of food. Italian cooks discovered this when they first braised pork in milk. As the milk simmers, it coagulates, producing funny-looking curds, but after straining and whisking, it becomes a smooth, mildly sweet sauce that doesn't seem at all related to a glass of milk.

Root vegetables also benefit from some milk in the cooking water. Potatoes - particularly the yellow varieties, which are creamy to begin with - turn dreamy. Turnips lose their edge. Milk adds sweetness to cakes, gives bread a nice brown color and moist crumb, and provides a little pouf to a cookie dough.

Corriher says that milk works to tenderize meat or make foods more palatable because it contains acid, sugar, and protein. Sugar helps the browning process, acid breaks down fibers in meat, and these chemical changes seem to smooth out flavors.

[MatthewB]

Thanks, fresco! My previous post was a bit ill-timed.

Now I wonder if McGee has anything to say . . .

Edit: grammar

Edited June 2, 2003 by MatthewB (log)

[MatthewB]

I took a look at McGee & Corriher last night.

Found nothing that directly addresses corn & milk in McGee.

However, Corriher has a bit of interesting information in Cookwise . . .

For her, the best way to do sweet corn is to bring a pot of water to a boil, go pick the corn, & run back to kitchen while shucking the corn.

If this is not possible, she recommends boiling six ears adding only 1/3 cup of honey to the water.

Interesting. (To me, at least. )

[MatthewB]

So do you grill your corn with the husks on? Is the milk able to get inside the husks when you are soaking them?

Grilled the corn without the husks.

Had about medium heat on the grill--"five one thousand" count with hand 5 inches above grill.

Moved the corn regularly to avoid burning.

(awbrig, note the honey tip above, too.)

Edit: If you wanted to grill with the husks on, I bet you could pull the husks back & then soak in the milk. Remove the corn to grill & pull the husks back over the corn. I'll have to try that.

Edited June 3, 2003 by MatthewB (log)