If you haven't bought fresh corn on the cob yet this summer, you've got a little bit of time left for this most delicious of summer veggies. Farmer's market corn is, of course, fantastic on its own, but you can also use sweet summer corn in any number of dishes. The trick is knowing how to cut corn off the cob without making a mess.
It's no surprise that the Barefoot Contessa has a brilliant little kitchen hack for the perfect way how to cut corn off the cob. It's a total "why didn't I think of that" moment.
Once you've shucked your corn, simply spread out a clean dishtowel on your counter or cutting board, carefully hold the corn cob with the flat end down, and use a sharp knife to slice down to cut the corn off. All your corn kernels fall onto the towel instead of all over your counter. When you're finished, simply pick up the towel and pour the corn into the right dish.
This simple trick is especially great if you want to cut a lot of corn off the cob in order to freeze it for later. You can get through several ears of corn and then go straight from towel to freezer bag. The hack also works well for grilled corn, just grill the ears as you normally would, let them cool, and then slice the corn off the cob onto a clean towel.
If you can't find a clean kitchen towel (goodness knows, it's happened to all of us), then use a large bowl, large flat cake pan, or rimmed baking sheet to catch the corn kernels.
Some like to use a bundt pan to cut an ear of corn, placing the shucked corn on the center hole. Others use a small bowl inverted in a larger bowl and a sharp chef's knife to make it mess-free. The best way of cutting corn is the way you feel comfortable. So what if you make a little bit of a mess while cutting corn?
Once you know the easy trick of how to cut corn off the cob, all sorts of amazing corn recipes await. We've got a couple of end-of-summer (or middle-of-winter) recipes that use the sweet taste of summer corn perfectly.
Summer Corn-and-Golden Potato Chowder
This corn chowder is straight out of the garden and light enough for even a hot end of summer evening. Plus, you use the cob itself to get every last drop of sweet corn flavor you can in this tasty dish. If you'd like to make it vegetarian, just swap out the chicken broth for good vegetable stock.
Get the recipe here.
Fresh Corn Salsa
Mexican Corn salsa goes with everything. It's a great side dish, or you can add some cherry tomatoes and bacon or crumbly cheese (or both) to turn it into a corn salad. Or just fix a bowl, add in a diced avocado, grab some chips, and call it a casual summer supper. This sweet corn salsa is simple to make and undeniably good to eat.
Get the recipe here.
