The benefits of boiled corn
Golden cobs are a healthy and low-calorie dish. The calorie content of boiled corn is 123 calories per 100 grams, while it contains a whole complex of essential microelements: potassium, iron, copper, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, iron, essential amino acids, vitamins B, C, E and PP, as well as a lot of fiber, which improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. To provide a person with the daily requirement of vitamin B1, you need to eat only 2-3 cobs.
The benefits of boiled corn for the human body are undeniable. Nutritionists advise eating it for those who suffer from diabetes, allergies, metabolic disorders and heart and vascular diseases. Boiled vegetables also have a positive effect on nerves, hematopoiesis, memory and muscle formation.
There is an opinion that regular consumption of the golden delicacy can reduce the risk of developing cancer.
Due to its satiety and low calorie content, boiled corn is not recommended for frequent consumption by people with appetite disorders and during exacerbations of gastrointestinal ulcers. Those who have a tendency to thrombosis and increased blood clotting should treat it with caution.
How to cook corn in a pressure cooker
- A pressure cooker is a thick-bottomed, wide pan with a lid that is secured with clamps. The container has a hole for steam to escape, which speeds up the process.
- To prepare corn, give preference to young ears with the most juicy kernels and green leaves. If the latter are partially dry, discard this product.
- Boil the water needed to fill the dishes 2/3 in advance. Fill the pan with linted corn on the cob, reserving the leaves.
- Add water, close the lid. Bring the liquid to a boil, then cook for another third of an hour. Next, remove the finished product, rub with salt and butter.
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How long to cook corn
Corn varieties are divided into two main categories: those intended for food and feed. In fodder varieties, what is primarily valued is not taste, but nutritional value, because it is used for the production of compound feed.
Unlike young food grade corn, which takes 15-60 minutes to cook, feed grade corn can take up to five hours to cook!
However, there are those who value fodder cobs even higher than food cobs for their moderate sweetness and a certain hardness. It is quite difficult to make a mistake with the variety, because the overwhelming amount of vegetable crops that are brought to markets is, of course, food. It is much easier to make a mistake in distinguishing between young and later hard cobs.
How to cook corn in milk
- Wash the cobs, remove the fibers, cut off the leaves. Rinse the corn, chop each cob into 2-3 equal sections.
- Pour enough full-fat milk into the pan to completely cover the contents. Bring to a boil, send the cobs inside.
- Cook the treat for at least 40 minutes, constantly assessing readiness with a fork. The grains must disintegrate.
- When you reach the desired texture, add a slice of butter to the milk. Turn off the heat and keep the cobs in the liquid for another 30 minutes.
- After this time, melt the butter and mix it with salt. Rub the mixture onto each piece of corn. Place the cobs on skewers and consume.
How to choose the right corn for cooking
Counting on a tasty delicacy, when choosing corn for cooking you need to pay attention to:
“Wrapper” of cobs. Cleaned, it often looks more “presentable”, but the tendrils and leaves will tell about the “age” of the cob. It should also be noted that cooking corn on the cob makes it tastier. The leaves should be green and the brown tangled “whiskers” should be alive and moist. The yellowness of the “wrapper” and the dryness of the “whiskers” will indicate the potential hardness of the cob.
Ripeness. Corn that remains tender and soft when cooked is called milk corn, i.e. unripe. To check ripeness, simply unroll the cob a little and press on one of the grains at the base of the cob. On “milk” corn, the juice easily comes out, while tougher varieties are pressed through with force. Choosing corn that is too “old” is the main mistake buyers make, which leads to the finished dish not being tasty enough. After all, the ripeness of the cob not only greatly increases the cooking time, but also affects the sweetness, because as the cob dries, the sugar inside the grains polymerizes into starch.
Which corn is suitable for cooking: choosing the right cob
There are two main types of this product:
- stern;
- food
Both types can be used for food. However, it is food that has a delicate taste. Also, it is worth noting that much less time is spent on cooking it.
When choosing, you should pay attention to the following points:
- It is best to purchase young corn in season (approximately August). In the following months, the cobs will most likely be overripe, and after cooking they will be tough;
- the color of the grains should be milky, almost white, with a light yellow tint - the brighter the color, the older the cob;
- the grains must be hard, equal in size and located tightly to each other;
- If you pierce a grain in a young fresh cob, a white viscous liquid will come out, reminiscent of milk in appearance.
How to cook delicious corn on the cob in a saucepan
There are many important nuances in preparing the dish. Here's what affects the taste of the finished dish:
- Presence of leaves and tendrils during cooking. Some people boil the corn unshelled, others carefully peel the cobs and simply add the leaves and tendrils to the pan, guided by the fact that the peel is difficult to peel off when boiled. Both are right, only one thing is clear: you shouldn’t throw away the peel before cooking. The presence of leaves and “whiskers” in the container during cooking will retain the juice in the kernels and add a bright aroma.
- Shape of container and cooking temperature. The pan should be wide so that the cobs fit without breaking, and also thick-walled so that heating and cooling occurs slowly. A deep frying pan that covers tightly works well. The original option for this purpose is a cast iron duckling pan: it is long, deep and has thick walls. You need to cook corn on the cob in a saucepan at 200-250C, reducing the heat to low. Cooking corn in a pressure cooker or slow cooker will shorten the cooking time.
- Cooking conditions. To avoid the hassle of peeling the peel from a cooked cob, you need to place some of the leaves on the bottom of a pressure cooker, frying pan or cauldron, and place the peeled corn on top. They also need to be covered on the sides and top with the remaining peel so that the grains do not come into contact with the overheated walls of the container. Then you need to fill the cobs with water so that it covers the leaves on top. It is important that the water continues to boil slowly during cooking - this is why the lid of the container must be tightly closed.
- Cooking time. How long does it take to cook corn on the cob in a saucepan? The average cooking time for corn cobs is 40 minutes. For milk corn it takes less than 20 minutes, for ripe and feed cobs – up to five hours.
- Salt. According to the classic recipe, corn is salted during meals, but, at first glance, it would be more logical to add salt to the water. However, not everything is so simple: salt water provokes the release of juice into the broth and the cobs turn out to be tough. It’s especially disappointing when, as a result of cooking with salt, corn of sweetish dessert varieties turns out to be hard.
Sometimes you need to check the readiness of the grains so that they do not overcook and become hard. To do this, you can pick up the grain at the base of the cob with a fork. If it tastes sweetish, soft and easy to chew, you can turn off the heat, and take out the cobs, serve and put them on the table.
To do this, the cobs are taken out of the container, shaken, draining off excess water, peeled from adhering peels and placed on skewers so that you don’t have to handle the cob itself. The finished dish is rubbed with oil, salt and spices to taste.
How to properly cook corn on the cob
First of all, the corn cobs should be thoroughly washed under running cold water. Do not remove all the leaves; they will not spoil your dish. Some recipes recommend lining the bottom of the dish and covering the corn with its own leaves on top to create the effect of cooking in its own juices.
Before cooking the corn, you can soak it in cold water for about one hour.
The pan for cooking corn should be wide and tall. The lid should fit tightly to the container in which our delicacy will be prepared. If the cobs are large, they can be cut or broken into two or three parts. Keeping the corn the same size will ensure it cooks evenly.
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How and how long to store boiled corn
The most aromatic and softest corn is the one taken off the stove literally minutes ago, prepared from young fresh cobs. But you want to enjoy it at any time of the year, and you may not want to eat all the cobs at once. To preserve the nutritional properties and taste of the dish, you need to know a few important little things.
Storing boiled corn. If you plan to serve the cobs not immediately, then the cobs should be allowed to cool along with the water: this way it will retain its juiciness and fresh appearance for a long time. The finished dish does not lose its taste during 3-4 hours of storage in the hot broth formed during cooking. Then, to avoid spoilage of the product, the cobs should be put in the refrigerator. There they can be stored for up to two days.
How to cook corn in a slow cooker
- The good thing about a multicooker is that, thanks to its use, all the useful elements are completely preserved in corn cobs. This means that using such a product will bring maximum benefits.
- Before sending the product for cooking, remove all leaves and remove hairs. Do not salt the cobs; place them in the bowl of the device, adhering to several layers.
- You can fill the contents with clean water or milk, it all depends on personal preference. However, you need to add a couple of slices of butter to the liquid to enhance the flavor.
- When all preparations have been completed, close the lid. Set the “Steam” or “Cooking” function for 35-40 minutes.
- After turning off the timer, do not rush to open the multicooker. Let the corn sit for another half hour. After this period, remove the cobs and rub them with salt and butter.
How to Freeze Corn
In the cold and “corn-free” season, frozen semi-finished products, which are sold in any supermarket, will come to the rescue.
At enterprises they are prepared as follows: raw young cobs are steamed and quickly frozen, which guarantees the preservation of nutrients and taste. The cooking time for frozen cobs is even shorter than for fresh ones: after boiling, it needs to be cooked for 20-25 minutes.
It is served to the table in the same way as described above. In cold winter, spring and slushy late autumn, such bright “pieces of summer” will lift your spirits and pleasantly surprise your family and guests.
Questions and answers
How to make feed corn into milk?
If you choose the wrong variety, do not rush to get upset. The vegetable can be made soft and juicy. To do this, soak the peeled cobs in milk for exactly 2 hours. After this, the corn is boiled as food - 20 minutes.
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How to cook grains without cobs?
To remove the grains, the cobs are dried. Subsequently, the grains can be processed into flour or boiled. To keep them soft, you need to soak them in water or milk. The container is left in the refrigerator overnight. Then the corn is thrown into boiling water without salt and cooked until soft (30–60 minutes).
How to make corn even tastier?
Hot boiled cobs can be sprinkled with grated cheese. Very tasty corn is obtained when baked in foil with spices (both food and feed). Peeled cobs are rubbed with a seasoning consisting of 100 g of vegetable-milk mixture, 10 g of cumin, 10 g of coriander, 10 g of ground black pepper, 10 g of dry basil, 10 g of dill and parsley, 2 cloves of garlic (chopped), 1 teaspoon salt. Then they wrap each cob in parchment, and then in foil. Allow to soak in the spices for 5 minutes and place in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 40 minutes.
Corn is one of the few products that retains all its beneficial properties when cooked. Despite its high calorie content (123 kcal per 100 g), it promotes weight loss, removes harmful substances from the body and reduces cholesterol levels. Boiled corn speeds up metabolism, reduces the risk of stroke, diabetes, gives strength and improves mood. To make the dish really tasty, you need to take young food-grade cobs and cook them for no more than 20–25 minutes in unsalted water.
How to cook corn in the oven
- Prepare all the necessary products in advance. You will need salt, butter, corn, olive oil. Do not remove leaves or hairs.
- Grease a baking sheet with olive oil and place the corn cobs on it. Pour in water until it reaches the middle of the fruit. Cover the contents with foil, leaving a small hole.
- Preheat the oven to 210 degrees, after 10 minutes place the baking sheet with the cobs inside. Cook the corn for 25 minutes, then reduce the oven power to 180 degrees. Cook for another 1 hour.