Cooking fresh, local, Willamette Valley corn in cream, butter and honey might seem a big decadent — or unnecessary! You might be amazed at how delicious the results are, so consider giving it a try. The bonus is that you will then have a delicious creamy broth that will jump start a batch of corn chowder.
Southern cooks have been boiling their summer corn on the cob in a milk, sugar and water bath for eons. Yet my eyes have always glazed over when encountering such recipes. Up here in the Pacific Northwest, why would we ever need such a maneuver to raise the wow factor of our perfect corn? Well, how about because it’s a fantastic portal to a whole new approach to corn cuisine. Suddenly, just when I thought I’d experienced every reasonable permutation one can with fresh local corn, I have a new passion: Fresh, local, Willamette Valley corn simmered in cream.
Now, cream wasn’t a part of the original game plan in my exploration of the subject. Like most recipes in development, there was a progression. It went something like this: Hmmm, if boiling corn on the cob in a milk, water, and sugar bath is good, perhaps boiling it in cream and butter would be even better.
At this point, I need to credit The Kitchen food blog. One of their corn recipes was titled “Hot Honey Butter Bath Corn” and my eyeballs did a double-take. Whoa! That sounded pretty yummy. I perused the recipe and sure enough, there was milk (some), butter (lots), and honey (a drizzle). But the hook was the pinch of red pepper flakes and freshly ground black pepper. Such a fiery back when played on my mental palate had me willing to roll up my sleeves and give it a whirl. After all, I’d been eating corn slathered with chipotle butter for years.
Of course, I immediately began fiddling with the concept. Out with the water, in with the cream. If a little milk is good, I was positive a whole lot of cream would be even better. And oh my. It certainly was! The resulting corn came out sweet, tender and flavorful. Which is saying a lot for a corn head like myself.
Plus, all of the “lesser” ingredients — the whisper of spice from the pinch of red pepper flakes and freshly ground black pepper, as well as the drizzle of honey — provide a layer of earthiness that elevates the experience.
For my follow-up act, I contemplated that heavenly creamy-buttery liquid. Even if you passed some of it at the table for diners to slather on their corn, there’s a whole lot left over. Way too much to waste. Which is how a spin-off came into being: Fresh Corn Bisque with Bacon. A creamy corn chowder punctuated by tender chunks of diced potato, a bit of sauteed onion, juicy corn kernels cleaved from the cob (after simmering in the cream, butter, honey and pepper flake solution), and oh yes, a generous handful of smokey diced bacon. Lovely!
So if this is your summer of culinary experimentation — because, we’re all spending more time in our kitchens — you might include these corn maneuvers.
Just don’t waste too much time. Corn season in the Willamette Valley will only last so long, and it would be a cruel thing to miss.
Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis food writer, artist and author of “Oregon Hazelnut Country, the Food, the Drink, the Spirit,” and four other cookbooks. Readers can contact her by email at janrd@proaxis.com or find additional recipes, food tips and information about obtaining prints and originals of her watercolors at www.janrd.com.
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August 26, 2020 at 07:00PM
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