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Nov
7
“Sex is good, but not as good as fresh, sweet corn.”
November 7, 2008 |
Grilled Corn with cayenne, salt and lime.
That’s Garrison Keillor’s claim. We set out to test it with home-grown corn.
“…corn provided infant America with a backbone while it was developing the use of its legs. America was growing, quite literally, up the cornstalk.” ~ Dorothy Giles, Singing Valleys: The Story of Corn.
How the times have changed.
In the 1800s, the uppity English set ought to teach Americans how to eat corn - predominantly the hard, jewel-like Indian corn.
The etiquette police were horrified as the European transplants, taking their cue from Native Americans, gnawed their way through breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“It is not elegant to gnaw Indian corn. The kernels should be scored with a knife, scraped off into the plate, and then eaten with a fork. Ladies should be particularly careful how they manage so ticklish a dainty, lest the exhibition rub off a little desirable romance.” ~ Charles Day, 1844.
Another officious corn-gawker:
“The greatest drawback is the way in which it is necessary to eat it…..It looks awkward enough: but what is to be done? Surrendering such a vegetable from considerations of grace is not to be thought of.” ~ Harriet Martineau, an Englishwomen, on corn on the cob (1835).
And another.
“Some people take the whole stem, and gnaw [the kernels] out with their teeth: two gentlemen do so who sit opposite…myself at table, and whom we call ‘the sharks,’ because of their remarkable ability in gobbling up large and often double portions of everything which comes to table, and it really troubles me to see how their wide mouths …ravenously grind up the beautiful white, pearly maize ears.” ~ Fredrika Bremer, on a visit to America in 1850.
Oh … the unmitigated horror !!!
Have you ever wondered who makes these rules? And why it’s not okay to pierce your peas with your fork?
We imagine some bored cavemen sitting around a fire in the evening after dinner wondering how to kill two more hours, when someone decided to start a game of ‘How far can you spit out the bone?’. And added a caveat.
“After gnawing at the bone, let’s spit it out of the left side of our mouths rather than the right. It will set us apart from those troglodytes on the other side of the river.”
That’s it. The Matriarch decided that she was to be “Da Enforcer”. She exercised control and garnered attention while ensuring that everyone spat out the bone from the left side of the mouth. And dining etiquette was born. To deepen control and garnish their narcissistic egos, her successors decided to expand the scope of these rules to encompass a wider variety of subjects. Much like the Patriot Act.
From bones to corn, to peas, dining etiquette began to dictate every culinary act. Ask the Azerbaijanis.
The guy who decided that bone-sucking was rude set up a company to sell marrow scoops. It was a symbolic progression of “Etiquette”. It signified the sucking out of the joy from eating, morsel by morsel. This new hubris-laden exercise had a new name - DINING. It was downright ridiculous.
Peas should be crushed onto the fork - a fork with the prongs pointing down. The best way is to have load the fork with something to which they will stick, such as potato or a soft vegetable that squashes easily onto the fork. It’s sometimes easier to put down your knife and then switch your fork to the other hand, so you can shovel the peas against something else on the plate, thus ensuring they end up on your fork.
Ummm… no thanks we’ll pass those mushy peas. Or eat them when no one’s looking - our way.
And corn on the cob too - with both hands and no utensils. And no onlookers. Keillor has a point. Corn, like sex, should be enjoyed in private and with no holds barred. Test it for yourselves.
Here’s another way to enjoy fresh corn - with homegrown cherry toms and herbs.
FRESH CORN, CHERRY TOMATO AND HERB SALAD
Mix together
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsps lemon/lime juice
1 tsp orange blossom honey
salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
Toss with
1.5 cups cherry tomatoes halved
1.5 cups fresh corn kernels
3 tbsp herbs (we used golden oregano, Thai basil and applemint)
This post is our entry for Yasmin’s Food Quote Challenge @ Almond and the Hazelnut.
and for Grow Your Own hosted by Ning @ Heart and Hearth.
A true sign of hospitality by Bee @ Forgive Me My Nonsense.
Applemint, Basil/Thai basil, Cherry Tomatoes, Corn, GARDENING, Lemon/Lime, Mint, MUSINGS, Oregano, Thai basil, Tomatoes
I love the first quote! It’s funny actually, a friend of mine submitted the same quote just yesterday… I had no idea it was so widely loved
Your other quotes are great too… I’ll be glad to add them to the collection.
Lovely salad… and I enjoyed reading your post. Love your writing style
LOL about corn, now I should stop grilling those corn for outdoor party…Wow, beautiful corn plants in ur patch
Hee, I hope I’m not judged too harshly when I say my preferred way to eat corn is shredded neatly off the cob with a knife. I hate it when the seed coats get stuck between my teeth!
That being said, I love the salad. It’s a caprese salad remix!
I would have thought about that while having chovolate.
Now who write the post bee or jai
Salade look colourfull, but i would prefer the grilled corn with cayanne papper wit lime squeesed on it.
Wow! I love your writing! I love your pictures! I love corn, any which way! Thanks for sharing with Grow Your Own!
love the last pic!
With that kinda title you guys sure are going to have people looking for more on the post!!! LOL
The bhutta is so tempting. And the pot is a new acquisition from Japan?
no, it’s an old one made in china.
Awesome pictures.
Love the quote & am glad you used it. Sounds corny but I’ve never been able to use it, coz the daughter visits my blog & would go euuuuuuuw!!! Love the pictures, your fab garden & the fantastic salad. I love boiling corn on the cob, & nibbling it off like cavemen hopefully did! The DH, on the other hand, hates it when it gets caught between his teeth, & would rather eat if out of a bowl…
I truly miss corn on the cob. You can’t find it here. It’s either grown for cattle or to make flour for polenta.
Beautiful pic’s.. and love your writing
I think another one should also be included in the etiquette list. While preparing food, just don’t lick the spatula/ladle/spoon to taste it and put it again in the dish. All the Food Network hosts do this. When they speak so much about cleanliness, wash the hands so much that their finger prints itself disappears, I can’t believe that they lick the spoon and put it back in the entire dish which is still cooking.
V amusing post and I like your pics of the corn stalks - my dad set up a ‘conversation pit’ in his garden once which was surrounded by corn plants which amused me because it reminded me of the joke about corn having ears! It is great that now you can buy corn on the cob at some markets - now that is convenience food!
love the last pic! really beautiful..
Corns grown at home.. aaahhhh! how beautiful that can be. Love the corn salad, with tomatoes.
Oh the colors of the salad are fabulous! Those cherry tomatoes make a wonderful blend of colors with the corn kernels! Love the pic!
Would like to invite you for a coffee at My blog Pls join me
Just loved loved your post..the title is funny….i like to anjoy my corn with bare hands…only then u can enjoy the true taste…..
Funny quote, but I gotta disagree! Home grown corn and salad look so yummy.
Lovely pictures… very inspiring. Ours didn’t do so well. We’ll try again next year.
home grown corn!! It makes you feel so happy :)fresh salad right from garden waw yummy!
i’m seriously jealous of you. What a bliss to have fresh, home-grown food… blessed!
cool
Imagine going through all that effort of scraping the corn on to a plate when you can just eat it caveman style - pull it off and chew blissfully!! Nice bunch of quotes:)
I haven’t been here for a long time now…. ooopppsssss! Don’t know why my blogger reader doesn’t show your posts
I know… it’s a poor excuse but it’s true!
Could I share a sweet corn with… let’s say… Ricky Martin? That would be IT!!!
I actually like my hands on my corn!..:))
I am laughing so hard my sides hurt! While I do try to teach my children some manners, we all pick up our corn on the cob and gnaw it right off. The salad does look delicious with the fresh tomatoes. Now you have me craving tomatoes again.
Oh that’s hilarious - in the past 2 weeks we have both used sex as a metaphor for a vegetable in a post!! You did corn, I did Brussels sprouts.
How wonderful to have grown your own corn - hats off to you! I could not even bring a whoile tomato crop to ripeness, so heaven knws where I’d end up with corn :o)
I beg to disagree with that author, sex over sweet corn for me!
BUT, I do admit there is something heavenly when you bite into the juicy sweet kernels of corn..I have in fact just posted on my blog a stew made of sweet corn on the cob with pumpkin.
Thanks for that lovely pic of freshness.