By Becky Nelson
Traveling through the lakes region of the New Hampshire last week, we were saddened by the state of field crops we passed by. We have been fortunate to grab a couple of rain showers here and there throughout the drought-plagued summer, but not so some other farmers in the state. A large farm in Moultonborough was irrigating their crops, a very costly practice to harvest low-value vegetables. Field corn in a couple of areas near Bristol were still short and already dried, not a good indicator for dairy feed this winter. Grass has been slow to grow as well, this summer, and we, like many other hay makers are looking at a diminished crop, also not good for anyone feeding large animals this winter.
This is the time of year that sweet corn is at its peak. Field corn, the type that is chopped and harvested for animal feed, usually matures much later in the season and you will see trucks and corn choppers harvesting in September or early October. We only grown the sweet corn that has become a staple of the local menu each summer. The first is usually harvested in mid to late August, with some local farmers striving to have the first corn on the market in late July.
Tomatoes are probably the top seller for us, with demand for the juicy sweetness even higher than corn, but for some reason there is always a loud clamor for corn. Corn has always been an important part of the American menu, but it seems that the local taste for it has grown over the last few decades. We plant seven or eight successive blocks of corn to fill demand for as many weeks, but when there is an overlap we have to send it into the wholesale market. Unlike tomatoes, corn is a crop that keeps on giving. The demand for cornstalks for autumn and Halloween decorating has us harvesting about a third of the stalks for decorating demand. When the fresh corn season ends as apples are being picked and tomato production is waning before the first frost, we always sigh a little sigh of sorrow.
Corn has been around for a very long time. Found in archaeological digs all over the Americas, it is believed to have been first harvested in Mexico. It is actually a grass, and each individual kernel on the ear is a seed. Now grown all over the world, it is the largest grain crop raised world-wide, even surpassing rice. Most corn is not sweet corn, but is grain-corn used to produce animal feed, ethanol combined with gasoline for fuel and other products used in food production.
Corn holds less nutritional value than other grains, but it sure is tasty. Versatile in cooking, it can be added to any soup, stew or chowder to add a sweet zip, or can be cooked in myriad ways as a perfect side dish. Probably the best way to eat corn in the height of its fresh season is right off the cob; steamed, boiled or roasted. Yum!
Even as the leaves start to change color and the weather cools, corn may still be cranking out the goodness of summer and can be the true calendar. If you judge summertime by corn season, we still have several tasty weeks to go.
Becky Nelson is co-owner of Beaver Pond Farm in Newport, New Hampshire. You can contact her through the farm page on Facebook and Instagram, visit the retail store or email her at beaverpondfarm1780@gmail.com.
August 29, 2020 at 11:00AM
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Bramblings: The corn calendar | Lifestyles | eagletimes.com - eagletimes.com
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