View Full Version : Corn Checkers(Rant)
First of all---If you are going to disagree or argue with me---move on. Thanks. Only agree-ers are allowed to comment. See? I've been going into krogers for the last month, & straight to the produce section where the ear corn is. I was told(by another customer) that it was all imported from Colorado. But, there are growers around here, too; so I really don't know for sure. Okay--the store has packages of de-husked ear corn, all clean and perfect on Styrofoam trays and wrapped in clear plastic. So, you can see before you buy--your choice. Right next to it, is the ear sweetcorn in the hull, priced 5/$2 Well, after a few days, the store started keeping a plastic trash barrel next to the display, because those annoying jerks were coming in, pulling the husks off corn to inspect it, and then throwing it back in the produce bin. Just like egg-checkers leave opened cartons strewn all over the egg cooler. Those people are gfgfguing slobs! I would like to be a Ferguson-style Cop when I encounter such people. Not really; just kidding. So, far I have purchased MUCH sweet corn this year, from various sources. The only "bad" ear was one in a dozen that I bought in Iowa--yes, Corn Capital Iowa. Just Beautiful Specimens of Corn, from the back of a pickup. But, one of them had a worm in it. But, I just picked the worm off, washed the corn up, and cooked it. That corn was just to good to waste! But a "corn checker"---there's no telling what THEY would've done in a case like that! I cannot figure out why they can justify dehusking the ear corn to inspect it. Please, DON'T disagree with Mee; I'll be VERY upset if you do. Thanks. Oh, I just realized that I should have used the idiom "unmitigated gall" in my little essay, but it is too late now.
rosarugosa
9-12-14, 9:06pm
Packy: I am totally with you on this one. I'm willing to live dangerously and risk the occasional imperfect ear of corn rather than stand there and prep my produce at the market. They almost always turn out to be fine.
What if you weren't sure if the corn was yellow or white, and you really wanted the white? How would you know without taking a little peek?
Packy: I am totally with you on this one. I'm willing to live dangerously and risk the occasional imperfect ear of corn rather than stand there and prep my produce at the market. They almost always turn out to be fine.Thanks, for agreeing with me, on this.
What if you weren't sure if the corn was yellow or white, and you really wanted the white? How would you know without taking a little peek?You'd just have to take your chances, Alan. Lifes like that.
Okay, I did a quick check. "Olathe" sweet corn is a Colorado sweet corn. I initially thought it was a reference to Olathe, in Kansas. Anyway, this Olathe corn apparently has white AND yellow kernels, judging by the photos. Ha. Isn't that something? Now we know--there's no need to check it for that reason.
People that go to our farm stand check because they're looking to see how big the ear is and if there flaws, like a little place where a little bug might have had his dinner.
I agree, I find it VERY annoying, particularly because the owner put a sign up saying, "Please don't strip the corn," and people just ignore it.
Definitely one of my pet peeves, Packy. You don't take a bite of an apple to test it and then throw it back in, do you? Why do people think they can essentially do the same with corn?
Miss Cellane
9-13-14, 8:50am
People in my area stand there and completely husk the corn before they buy it. The supermarkets provide trash barrels for this purpose.
It is completely puzzling to me. I can understand pulling the husk down a tiny bit to check the ear of corn (even if the OP isn't happy with that), but why on earth would you want to stand there in the supermarket and husk the corn? That's supposed to be done while sitting on the back porch steps. And they make such a mess. Packy's right--these people should just buy the pre-husked corn.
I get my corn at one of two farm stands in town. Make friends with the owners, and they'll bring out the corn that was picked that morning--the fresher the better, in my book.
Olathe corn apparently has white AND yellow kernels...
Its a brave new world.
Is it acceptable to pull the tops back enough to see the very tip of the cobb?
What really ticks me off is when grocery stores put up a bunch of signs in their produce section that say "Local". It's just a B.S. lie.
I've had good luck with Kroger corn this year. I love their 10 for $3.00. I tend to buy narrower ones, since I think they seem to be more tender. I'm sad the season is ending.
Too bad we can't pull out a plug of the watermelons, 'til we find an acceptable one. haha
I've gotten good watermelons from Kroger this summer too. Accept the one before last.......used all my usual techniques of determining it's state of ripeness (no plugs), but it was light pink and mushy. Blech......
Bought another one yesterday.......haven't opened it yet.
I will so miss corn on the cob and watermelon. Goodbye summer.........
Is it acceptable to pull the tops back enough to see the very tip of the cobb?
.
I used to do that, but then I realized that I always reject out of hand the corn that someone else has peeked at, simply because it's been peeled back, not because there's anything wrong with it. So ultimately that adds to the cost of the corn.
Since I've stopped doing it, I've realized that there's no reason to do it. 95% of the corn I pick "unpeeked" is just fine. If there's a little bug-hole or little worm, I just chop off that inch.
Is it acceptable to pull the tops back enough to see the very tip of the cobb?
What really ticks me off is when grocery stores put up a bunch of signs in their produce section that say "Local". It's just a B.S. lie.
I've had good luck with Kroger corn this year. I love their 10 for $3.00. I tend to buy narrower ones, since I think they seem to be more tender. I'm sad the season is ending.
Too bad we can't pull out a plug of the watermelons, 'til we find an acceptable one. haha
I've gotten good watermelons from Kroger this summer too. Accept the one before last.......used all my usual techniques of determining it's state of ripeness (no plugs), but it was light pink and mushy. Blech......
Bought another one yesterday.......haven't opened it yet.
I will so miss corn on the cob and watermelon. Goodbye summer.........Wow! Your Kroger corn is cheep; The corn at our Kroger(actually Dillons, owned by Kroger)is 5/$2. Prolly higher to cover the costs of doing business with those damn Corn Checkers!
You're right catherine..........it really has made no difference, if I check the tip of the corn or not! And if it causes it not to be sold, then that's enough reason to not do it.
Packy.........at the beginning of the season it was higher. But it's been 10/$3 for quite a while. Maybe it's because we do live in farm country, and they can get it cheaper.
Have any of you bought the frozen stuff in winter? DOUBLE YUK! Who would eat that stuff?!
catherine
9-13-14, 12:52pm
You're right catherine..........it really has made no difference, if I check the tip of the corn or not! And if it causes it not to be sold, then that's enough reason to not do it.
Packy.........at the beginning of the season it was higher. But it's been 10/$3 for quite a while. Maybe it's because we do live in farm country, and they can get it cheaper.
Have any of you bought the frozen stuff in winter? DOUBLE YUK! Who would eat that stuff?!
I'm snobbish about corn and tomatoes, because I'm from New Jersey (no snickers, please) where our corn and tomatoes are the best, so there is no way that I would stoop to eat corn in the winter. No, we are like kids waiting for Santa right around the 4th of July when the first pickin's come in.
I think it's kinda neat, when we have to wait for something special, instead of having it year-round. I wish I could do that with more things.
I have to agree--I would get tired of it year around. And it wouldn't be worth it to freeze ear corn, either. After what I've got is gone, that's it until next year.
I used to grow it in my garden, and it was always soooooo good. I think the variety was called Kandy Korn EH. (everlasting heritage).
But it wasn't an easy veggie to grow. I would till furrows and plant the seed down in them. Then I would slowly hill them up as they grew. Then, the wind would knock them over and DH would try to set them back up in 90 degree weather. Then the coons would raid it the night before it was perfect to eat. hahaha Just way too much work.........but it sure tasted good.
I bought some organic corn at Whole Foods once, and I couldn't believe how absolutely perfect and delicious it was. Does that say it couldn't have been organic? haha
When I was younger, the ladies would get together and pic tons of corn from somewhere, and we'd go to one lady's house and cut it off the cobs and package it for the freezer.
Oh........and one time we went to a church get-together (when I was little). It was at a farmer's house. He had a big round circle of burning embers in his yard. He put all the corn (in their husks) into the embers and they cooked that way. Yum!
I tried growing corn when we lived in a much more rural place in quasi-upstate NY. It grew, but the deer got to it before we did. So we'd run out there when the corn was about as big as the little corn cobs you get in Chinese dishes and we'd just eat it so we'd get something out of the deal for all our trouble.
I used to grow it in my garden, and it was always soooooo good. I think the variety was called Kandy Korn EH. (everlasting heritage).
But it wasn't an easy veggie to grow. I would till furrows and plant the seed down in them. Then I would slowly hill them up as they grew. Then, the wind would knock them over and DH would try to set them back up in 90 degree weather. Then the coons would raid it the night before it was perfect to eat. hahaha Just way too much work.........but it sure tasted good.
I bought some organic corn at Whole Foods once, and I couldn't believe how absolutely perfect and delicious it was. Does that say it couldn't have been organic? haha
When I was younger, the ladies would get together and pic tons of corn from somewhere, and we'd go to one lady's house and cut it off the cobs and package it for the freezer.
Oh........and one time we went to a church get-together (when I was little). It was at a farmer's house. He had a big round circle of burning embers in his yard. He put all the corn (in their husks) into the embers and they cooked that way. Yum!
While I wouldn't be able to convince you and other greenies that "Organic" has little to do with taste so I won't try, I will address the "taste" aspect of the corn: There are scads of varieties and some are sweeter than others. Not everyone's taste buds are the same. DH, being the Vegetable King and Corn Expert that he is (those Iowa genes!) he likes a different kind of sweet corn than I like, he likes his less sweet. And he's very picky about freshness.
I'd rather have one of the super sweet varieties that's a bit old than a less sweet type that is freshly picked.
And being the Squirrel that he is, we've got lbs of home grown corn packed away in the freezer for winter. Someone upthread says that is too much trouble/aint' worth foolin' with, but DH doesn't mind since he's a real DIY guy. We don't need to hire anyone to grow frozen corn for us.
And then, speaking of squirrels, our city crop of corn was decimated by squirrels once they found it this year. DH managed to harvet for a few weeks and than--BAM!--overnight, the squirrels stripped it all. They sit on a stalk and eat it on the cob.
I tried growing corn when we lived in a much more rural place in quasi-upstate NY. It grew, but the deer got to it before we did. So we'd run out there when the corn was about as big as the little corn cobs you get in Chinese dishes and we'd just eat it so we'd get something out of the deal for all our trouble.
LOL catherine! I would have done the same.
Eating corn on the cob during the winter is like having turkey n' stuffing on the 4th O' July. It's VERY unconventional. Let's try to be normal, okay? Thanks.
Gardenarian
9-14-14, 11:23am
Conventional and normal have never been goals of mine. Far from it!
But I agree that corn on the cob is best eaten the day it's picked, and that's not going to be in January. Seasonal eating is good for the body, and good for the Earth.
I also get bugged by corn shuckers - I think around here (urban area) people do it not so much to check the corn as to not have to deal with the husks and silk. They make great compost, though, and rabbits and guinea pigs love them. Not sure what other animals eat the husks - do chickens?
The cobs take forever to break down, though.
I never shuck mine in the store either............I want that stuff for my compost pile! I don't know if chickens eat it. I never offered it to mine. I try to keep their chemical intake at a minimum..........although you guys in CA can probably find it organic most of the time.
I think my compost pile is more of a wildlife buffet though. I find alot of interesting bugs/butterflies on mine. I ride past it every night and check on the visitors. I'm sure deer and coons visit it at night too.
I never shuck mine in the store either............I want that stuff for my compost pile! I don't know if chickens eat it. I never offered it to mine. I try to keep their chemical intake at a minimum..........although you guys in CA can probably find it organic most of the time.
I think my compost pile is more of a wildlife buffet though. I find alot of interesting bugs/butterflies on mine. I ride past it every night and check on the visitors. I'm sure deer and coons visit it at night too. Yes, the corn shucks and cobs have contributed to my compost heap. There is, however, a woodchuck living in the immediate vincinity and rabbits, rats and mice, too. So it's hard to say who is scattering the discarded corn parts around out there.
I never shuck mine in the store either............I want that stuff for my compost pile! I don't know if chickens eat it. I never offered it to mine. I try to keep their chemical intake at a minimum..........although you guys in CA can probably find it organic most of the time.
I think my compost pile is more of a wildlife buffet though. I find alot of interesting bugs/butterflies on mine. I ride past it every night and check on the visitors. I'm sure deer and coons visit it at night too.
I tell DH not to put those tough stalks into the compost--just the husks and silks. I think those stalks take to long too break down. What do you think?
Packy, I completely and totally agree with you! ;)
catherine.......do you mean that little thing at the end that you usually hold on to when you're eating it? I've never noticed them being a problem in the compost pile. But we have tons of microorganisms around here! But if you're talking about the whole stalk, when you grow them yourself........I can't remember what we did with those. Long ago, I had a big shredder, so maybe I put them in that??
Packy, I completely and totally agree with you! ;)Thank You, Songbird, and all the other agree-ers out there! As for you non-agree-ers; when you finally realize I am right--let mee know, right here. Hindsight is 20-20.
catherine.......do you mean that little thing at the end that you usually hold on to when you're eating it? I've never noticed them being a problem in the compost pile. But we have tons of microorganisms around here! But if you're talking about the whole stalk, when you grow them yourself........I can't remember what we did with those. Long ago, I had a big shredder, so maybe I put them in that??
Yeah, the bottom of the stalk. When we husk the corn and break the the corn from the stalk, there's usually about 3-4 inches of hard stalk, and I only have one compost bin, so I like to try to get things to break down at roughly the same rate. I want to get another one but until I do, I keep out stuff that is going to take a long time to compost.
I'm not good (at all) at turning our compost pile. We usually just let it go, and then use the bottom part years later. Never in my life have I seen heat coming from our pile! I guess I'm a bad composter. haha
They say paper coffee filters are compostable, but they never seemed to decompose in our pile. Fortunately now we use those gold reusable filters.
I wonder if you cut up your stalks more, if they would decompose faster?
Packy--I agree with you 100%. No need to strip--just feel the end. If it's nice and rounded, full--then choose it and move on.
I have so many corn-growing stories, mostly associated with my Dad. One year he and I painstakingly sprouted our corn seed and planted a dozen or so rows. It had come up, oh, 2-3 inches when one morning I looked out and each and every seedling had been plucked up, snipped and set down in beautiful, perfect herringbone lines, right down the rows. Crows.
I can see how it might be a challenge to grow sweet corn successfully. I have seen it done by backyard gardeners, but it is a field crop that is better suited to large-scale production. You allocate precious space for a bunch of sweet corn, and midseason, it is damaged by wind, bugs, animals whatever. All that garden space--wasted. The height of the plant; space constraints, & its' vulnerability, and other factors would make it problematic. Bad experience with down-home gardens just may be why the provincials tend to instinctively check supermarket Corn. If gardening is your avocation--do it. Otherwise, stick to the other high-value vegetables that are better-suited to the home garden.
Blackdog Lin
9-16-14, 8:56pm
Otherwise, stick to the other high-value vegetables that are better-suited to the home garden.
I agree. I convinced DH to discontinue corn in our home garden 2 seasons ago. I takes up too much room for the amount of harvest we get from it - and preservation is too labor-intensive for the amount we get for the pantry or freezer.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.