You may be used to hacking your way to cob kernels, or to picking around with your fingers for that thread of corn silk that gets stuck in your teeth every time you eat corn on the cob, in which case this article is for you.
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Corn is such a great summer food and such a versatile ingredient. You can add it to soups, make salads, grill it or steam it. Steamed corn on the cob may not get any char on it, but when that barbeque looks so out of reach, it’s such a great thing to make.
Learning how to cut corn off the cob mess-free will serve you well any time you want to make your favorite summer food and every time you’re going to want to eat the kernels straight from the cob without having to clean yourself up with tons of dental floss.
Remember that you can always buy canned or frozen corn, but those fresh plump kernels…, that, you only get with fresh corn.
Here are some corn hacks so that you won’t have to carry dental floss with you any time your friend grills up some corn on the cob or you decide to cook with cob kernels.
- The corn stripper, if you don’t mind single-use kitchen items.
Corn strippers remove kernels off the cob fast and easy but they’re not for everyone, particularly not for people who scorn single-use kitchen tools.
People may be right – single use kitchen gadgets could be a waste of money and totally unnecessary since you could be doing the same job using items that you already have in your kitchen, but a good-good corn stripper can prove useful.
Another thing with corn strippers is that you’ll probably need some time getting used to how they strip, but once you figure that out, you’ll find it easy to cut off the kernels.
One of the best investments would be corn strippers that look similar to a vegetable peeler. They’re much easier to use.
- The old-fashioned way is to cut with a sharp knife.
To cut corn off the cob without making a mess, use a sharp knife and a bundt or an angel food cake pan.
You can substitute the bundt with bowls, one large and one small. In this case, what you do is you put the small bowl inside the larger one upside-down and you hold the corn while cutting off the kernels top to bottom.
If you’d only use one bowl, you’ll find it difficult to cut straight down to the bottom.
If you have the angel food cake pan, it’s going to be even easier.
Place either the picked-side or the other end of the cob in the middle of the pan and cut off the kernels.
In both cases, the corn will end up where it’s supposed to, in the bowl or in the pan and not everywhere else in the kitchen.
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A third option would be to use a baking sheet and a bowl, which you’d also turn upside down to place the cob on top.