Corny

Corn on the cob is a sensual experience. You can eat it dripping with butter and gritty with salt and pepper, or like me, eat it au natural. Personally, the melted butter oozing down my chin is not what I consider pleasant, and it distracts from the taste of the corn. I like to feel the kernels with my lips, and enjoy the popping sensation as I bite down to detach all that golden goodness.

Slightly under-ripe corn is so superior to over-ripe starchy corn. It is the Cadillac of corn, whereas the ears with kernels so crowded they have become rectangles instead of little bursting bubbles, are the pre-owned clunkers in the corn lots. They are tough and invariably stick between your teeth, reminding you that you just ate an inferior piece of produce.

Most people don't realize that after you have eaten the corn off the cob you can milk the cob for the best flavor of all. By scraping your knife down the rows, the interior creamy portion of the kernels which sometimes gets left behind, slides out. One cob can produce another decent spoonful of this milky, tender sweetness. It is worth the trouble to not pass it up.

Fresh corn on the cob is beautiful to look at, fun to eat, and deliciously sweet. Never turn down an opportunity to eat it off the grill, where the natural sugars have carmelized to a golden brown and that smoky grilled smell turns your salivary spigots on to full blast. And never, ever cut if off the cob is you are capable of eating it intact.