It's easy enough to determine whether a tomato or strawberry is ripe, based on its appearance and texture. But how do you know when it's the right time to pick an ear of organic sweet corn on your small hobby farm or in your vegetable garden?
While the corn in a supermarket is usually of a consistent size, that's not the case for corn grown at home. Even a small ear may be ready for harvest. To determine whether it's time to pick your sweet corn by mid or late summer, follow these steps.
To pick corn properly, grab the ear firmly, placing your thumb toward the top of the ear and your middle finger closer to the base of the ear. Snap the ear against the stalk and pull upward. That's it! Now your corn is ready to cook and eat.
If you are selling your own home-grown corn at a farm stand, soak the picked corn in lukewarm water until you sell it or use it. Soaking the corn will help keep it fresher.
Cook freshly picked corn as soon as possible because, once picked, the sugar in the kernels begins to turn to starch. Within the first 24 hours, corn loses 25% of its sugar to starch. The freshest corn always tastes the best!
Boiling is the simplest and most popular way to cook fresh corn on the cob.
You can also grill or bake fresh corn. To do this:
No. It has no effect on the stalk's growth or output of future cobs. You'd have to keep planting new stalks to maintain a steady harvest.
No. If you pick an unripe cob of corn, it will not improve with time, nor will it taste good.
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