Written by Diane Becker @ Common Ground Nebraska

Many sweet corn stands are popping up around the state! I have a great, easy solution to cooking silk-free sweet corn for you and your family to enjoy. Did you know that some sweet corn is organic and some is conventional or raised from biotechnology seeds? Is organic safer than non-organic?

• All foods – whether organic or non-organic – must meet certain federal and, sometimes, state regulations before being sold to consumers. Several U.S. government agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), monitor the food production chain through regulations and inspections from the farm to your table.

• Any food, whether organic or conventional, could become unsafe with illness-causing foodborne bacteria at any point in the chain from the farm to the table, according to information from USDA, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council’s Food Safe Families program. Follow USDA and FDA’s recommendations to clean, separate, cook and chill food at www.fightbac.org.

I have six kids of my own and I want to choose the healthiest, best quality food I can for my family just like every mom. As farmers, we raise GMO crops and have no qualms about feeding GMO produce to our family. We are thankful for the quality seed that enables us to produce a bountiful crop to feed the nation and the world. For sweet corn, usually, we use boiling large pots of water and plunge the ears of sweet corn in them to get the corn cooking job done. But this version just uses the microwave!

I tried it out on television in front of a live audience on The Morning Blend as a CommonGround volunteer and it worked- thank heavens. If I can handle hot objects and talk at the same time while being filmed doing it- then anyone can do this. You can also get the recipe for Sweet Hawaiian mini burgers from my friend, Joan on this video!

http://youtu.be/9N_-zCipk5o 

 

Silk-Free Sweet Corn

Ingredients

3 ears of sweet corn (still in husk)

Directions

1. Place ears of corn still in husk on a plate in the microwave (no more than 3 at a time) and mic on high for 7 minutes. (If you’re only doing 1 or 2 ears, reduce time to 4-5 minutes).

2. Remove corn with a hot pad and lay on cutting board.

3. With a sharp knife, cut the stem-end of the cob off, about an inch from the bottom of the ear.

4. Hold the ear up at the top where the silks come out. Give the ear a few shakes and out will pop an ear of corn all cooked and ready to eat without one silk on it.