Hi Reader,

There is one step between good corn and forgettable corn, and it happens before you turn on the stove.
​
Everything else is negotiable. The butter. The Chile. The grill or the pot. The salad or the chowder.
​
But the first choice, the one that decides whether the corn on the plate tastes like August or like a memory of it, is how you handle it in the ten minutes after you bring it home.
​
I did not always know this. For years, I bought corn like a person buying flowers: enthusiastically, in bulk, then panicking on the drive back about where to put it. I'd stack the ears on the counter and try to work them into dinner over three or four nights.
​
By night three, the ears had already turned. Sweet and juicy on day one, quietly starchy by day three, its flavor already fading.
​
The fix is not urgency. It's a technique.
​
Buy fewer ears than your ambition wants. Cook them the day you buy them. Char what you can. Slice the kernels off the cob when you can't. Save nothing for later that doesn't have a plan.
​
The rest of this section is the small handful of moves that separate a sweet, crisp ear from a starchy one. It's a short list. That's the point.

The Corn Rules I Live By

• Buy it the day you'll cook it. Corn starts converting its natural sugars into starch almost immediately after it's picked. Fresh matters here.
• Don't overcook it. Sweet summer corn needs only a few minutes. The goal is tender and juicy, not blown out.
• Char if you can. A hot grill or ripping-hot skillet adds a smoky sweetness plain boiled corn can't match.
• Think beyond the cob. Slice the kernels into pasta, salads, soups, or succotash. Corn goes almost anywhere.
• Butter isn't the only answer, and here's the proof.Lime, herbs, chile, smoky cheese, browned butter, and even a splash of vinegar can make sweet corn taste new. Scroll down, pick one, and put a few ears on tonight.

WHAT'S INSIDE...

• ​Grilled Corn On The Cob With Chipotle Butter​
• ​Charred Corn & Scallop Salad With Lime Dressing​
• ​Elote ~ Mexican-Style Street Corn​
• ​Succotash Salad​
• ​Corn & Roasted Poblano Soup​
• ​Corn Chowder With Bacon​
• ​Charred Corn Salad​

​Grilled Corn On The Cob With Chipotle Butter​

This grilled corn on the cob, inspired by elote or street corn in Mexico, tempers spicy chipotle with the tang of lime and the sweetness of butter.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Charred Corn & Scallop Salad With Lime Dressing​

The combination of grilled corn, seared scallops, tomatoes, sausage, herbs, and a tangy lime dressing is a revelation. Just don't forget the corn nut topping.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Elote ~ Mexican-Style Street Corn​

For this Mexican-style street corn, or elote, sweet corn is grilled, slathered with lime mayonnaise, and sprinkled with cheese, cilantro, and hot sauce. The corn husks make for a nifty eating handle.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Succotash Salad​

The dressing is a moment to create flavor. The heavy cream is for texture, the Champagne vinegar for taste. It lends itself well to the many components that make up the salad itself.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Corn & Roasted Poblano Soup​

The sweetness of fresh summer corn and mild heat from fresh chiles pair beautifully in this earthy late summer soup. A homemade corn cob broth lends extra depth of flavor to the soup.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Corn Chowder With Bacon​

Corn chowder with bacon is a lovely late-summer meal that is full of fresh flavors and comforting creaminess. Not too heavy but still satisfying because of the addition of bacon, cumin, turmeric, and thyme.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Charred Corn Salad​

This charred corn salad, made with fresh sweet corn, cilantro, tomatoes, hearts of palm, onion, and a spicy Greek yogurt dressing is simple, healthy, and certain to become a staple in your weeknight summer rotation.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​