How to boil corn in water in a saucepan. Cooking time for corn in a saucepan

Boiled corn is one of the most favorite summer dishes, suitable for both adults and children. How to cook corn correctly in order to preserve all the beneficial properties - read further in the material.

We invite you to learn a few basic rules and tips on how to cook corn better and more correctly in order to preserve maximum beneficial properties and taste.

How to cook corn correctly: instructions

Preparing corn for cooking is that it must first be washed under clean running water and all dirty leaves removed. It is not necessary to completely clear the leaves from the cob. The main thing is to remove spoiled leaves before cooking.

How to cook corn: the first step is cleaning

Before cooking, it is advisable to soak the corn for an hour in cold water, and cook the ears of corn of approximately the same size. This is necessary so that the corn is cooked evenly. If the cobs are too large, cut them in half.

How to boil old corn

Even overripe and “old” corn will be soft and juicy after boiling if it is cooked correctly. To do this, you must first clean the cobs from fibers and leaves, then cut them in half and then pour them with a mixture of regular drinking cold water and milk in a 1:1 ratio.

The corn should sit in this milk mixture for a total of 4 hours, after which it can be boiled in the classic way.

How many minutes to cook corn

The amount of cooking time for corn depends directly on its degree of maturity. For example, young corn will be ready after 20-30 minutes of cooking, while mature corn should be cooked for 30-40 minutes. The cooking time for well-ripened cobs is 2-3 hours.


How to cook corn: the main rule is not to overcook it

The most important thing is not to overcook the corn so that the grains do not begin to harden. By the way, young corn is tasty even without salt, it is tender and soft, and boiling only takes thirty minutes.

It is ideal to boil corn on the cob in a cast iron pan with fairly thick walls, with the lid of the pan closed. Corn also cooks well in a clay pan. You can cook corn in a double boiler, and even in the microwave. Some people manage to bake it in the oven.

How to cook corn depends on many factors. To be able to enjoy the juicy and aromatic pulp of a product at home, it must be correctly selected, processed and prepared. Depending on the variety and freshness of the product, this can take from 15 minutes to 2 hours (sometimes even more). The process itself is not complicated, you just need to take into account its specifics and adhere to a number of rules.


You can boil the component not only in a saucepan; anything that can be found in a home kitchen will work as a tool: a double boiler, an oven, a multicooker, a pressure cooker and even a microwave. And for those who are wondering how to cook soft corn, it is recommended to study the methods of boiling the product in milk or cream.

How to choose the right corn?

Even old corn or fodder varieties of cereal can be cooked deliciously if you handle the manipulation with all responsibility. True, you will have to spend a lot of time and effort on this. In order not to create unnecessary troubles for yourself, when choosing a product you should pay attention to the following points:

  1. We choose cobs that are not too long with perfectly even rows of light yellow or cream-colored grains.
  2. To check the quality of the product, you need to separate one grain from the cob, break it or cut it. The appearance of milky white juice is an indicator of the youth and freshness of the component.
  3. Particular attention should be paid to the product of the Bonduelle variety. It retains freshness longer than other analogues, so even after several days or even weeks of storage it can be boiled in the same way as dairy products.
  4. There is another way to make sure that you have got a fresh product in your hands; to do this, the head of cabbage should be broken in half. It’s good if its cut is whitish, light and moist.
  5. To distinguish sweet edible corn from feed corn, you need to examine its tendrils. They should be tender and light, not dense and brownish.

Initially, a product that is not of the highest quality is difficult to bring to an optimal state, even if you strictly follow the recommendations on how to properly cook corn. But there are chances, you just need to choose the optimal option for influencing the workpiece and clearly maintain the required amount of time.

Traditional way of boiling cobs

At home, corn lovers most often use the classic version of boiling the cobs. It is simple and accessible; it allows you to process young and old products so that they are juicy.

  • Processing should be carried out immediately after purchasing or collecting cobs. Wash them, clean them of dry and dirty leaves. We remove clean green leaves, just like the tendrils, but do not throw them away.

Advice: Do not immediately pour out the broth in which the product was prepared. If you cannot eat all the cobs at one time, then this liquid can be used to store them. However, in any case, after a couple of hours the taste characteristics of the dish will begin to deteriorate.

  • In a saucepan with thick walls, line the bottom with leaves, then put the cobs and fill them with cold water. Place leaves and tendrils on top again. We wait until the mixture boils, then reduce the heat and tightly close the container with a lid.
  • Particular attention should be paid to how long to cook corn, depending on its initial characteristics. Fresh food products and slightly stale cobs of the Bonduelle variety will be ready after 15 minutes in boiling water. For a fodder variety, 2 hours may not be enough.
  • After a set time, we check the component for readiness and act according to the circumstances. Sometimes you have to add water several times until the corn is cooked. In this case, you need to use boiling water.

You shouldn’t immediately take out the finished product; if you let it sit in the pan for another 10 minutes, it will turn out really tasty and juicy. Only after this do we take out the ingredients, rub them with salt and spices, grease them with butter and serve.

How to cook a product in a double boiler, oven, pressure cooker, microwave?

What kind of devices cannot be found in modern kitchens. And they all make the process of boiling corn at home easier. To prepare the desired dish and not have to control it every minute, you should use the following approaches:

  • Double boiler. Place the washed cobs in a steamer bowl along with the leaves and tendrils. You should not sprinkle the workpieces with salt, as many people do. Because of this mistake, boiled corn often turns out to be a little dry. There is no need to process the product for a long time. Fresh products and cobs of the Bonduelle variety will be ready in 10-15 minutes. It will take about 40-45 minutes to boil old or feed products.

  • Oven. Grease a baking dish with butter, lay out the cobs, and pour boiling water over them. Place in an oven preheated to medium temperature for 40 minutes, evaluate the result and, if necessary, cook the dish.

  • Pressure cooker. Milk corn or Bonduelle products should not be boiled this way; you can overcook the quality component. But this is the best option when frozen or feed products need to be softened as much as possible. Soak it in water and cook for at least 40 minutes.

  • Microwave - option with water. The main thing is that the products are fresh and young. Place it in a container with water, cover with a lid and cook for 45 minutes at medium power. If necessary, add boiling water to the bowl.

  • Microwave - dry approach. A real salvation for those who want to know how to quickly boil corn. Divide the cob into 2-3 parts, spread with leaves and cook in its own juice for 5-7 minutes at medium power.

Subsequent processing is no different from that provided for in traditional cooking. Rub the finished product with salt, oil and spices and serve.

How to properly process dried corn?

To prepare dried cereal deliciously, you should perform the following manipulations:

  • In a saucepan, combine dried corn kernels (50 g - about 1 cob) and water. The liquid should cover the mass by 1-2 cm. Immediately add a little salt and spices.

Tip: Frozen products should first be defrosted, otherwise they will not allow the liquid to boil for a long time, which will negatively affect the final result. Moreover, the defrosting conditions must be natural (without hot or cold water, microwave).

  • Bring the mixture to a boil, keeping the lid open. Then close the lid, reduce the heat and wait just a minute. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, after which it needs to be put on the stove again.
  • We continue this way for 2 hours, gradually adding boiling water so that all the moisture does not evaporate.

Before cooking pre-dried corn, you can soak it in cold water for 5-6 hours. Then you won’t have to insist on it while cooking, you just need to keep it on the fire for an hour.

Features of boiling the product in milk and cream

To prepare a familiar product very tasty, you can do the following:

  • For 4 ears of boiled corn, take half a glass of milk, heavy cream, dry white wine and two tablespoons of butter.
  • Remove the grains from the already boiled cobs, add milk and cream, and cook for 10 minutes after steam appears.
  • Melt the butter and add to the corn. After 10 minutes, add wine. After the same period of time, add salt, spices and seasonings to taste.
  • Leave the mixture covered over very low heat for another 10 minutes and serve as a separate dish.

Even boiled corn is a source of many nutrients and beneficial substances. It is perfectly absorbed by the body, rarely causes allergies and goes well with other foods. It can be served both as a side dish and dessert. In the latter case, the finished product should not be salted, but rubbed with sugar.

If you like to cook and experiment in the kitchen, we recommend visiting the site with recipes recepti24.ru. The site provides home cooking recipes and also publishes useful information, such as how long to cook frozen unpeeled shrimp.

The latter part of the hottest time of the year is simply paradise for corn fans. This grain is prepared in a variety of ways: browned on the grill, dried in the oven, or simply boiled.

Cooking takes the least time and effort, so even a beginner can cope with this simple culinary solution. It would seem that cooking this cereal should not raise any questions, but in fact, how much time should be devoted to this stage in order to get the most delicious product?

It is important to achieve a “golden mean” so that the product does not turn out too raw or overcooked.

Read further in the article about how to properly cook corn.

How to choose corn?

To create a successful dish, it is important to purchase the right product. Buy sweet corn, so it will still have a pleasant taste, while varieties bred specifically for animal feeding do not have a pleasant taste.

So, how to distinguish one variety from the other? The fact is that the shape and size of the cobs of both varieties can be completely different, which is their common feature. The main difference in the choice of these two varieties may be the shade of the hairy part of the heads of cabbage.

Forage varieties have brownish hairs, while young sweet cobs have light, sometimes even transparent hairs. More mature sweet varieties have a light hairy part, but the tips of the hairs may have a brownish color.

After purchasing corn, it is important to talk a little about its proper storage. It is better not to store the product outside the refrigerator for a long time, otherwise it will lose its juiciness and richness of taste.

If you buy too much corn, boil most of it and place the rest in the freezer. This way the cereal will retain its structure, rich taste and juiciness under freezing conditions.

In order to defrost it, simply place it on a plate at room temperature. This way the cob will retain its structure without changes in taste and other characteristics.

By the way, you can often find this product frozen in stores. Next, let's talk about how to cook corn on the cob in a saucepan so that the final product leaves a pleasant impression on everyone who tastes your dish.

The choice of this cereal is, perhaps, the key point that determines its further taste. In a store or supermarket, look for cobs that have a light yellow tint. They have reached the ideal state of ripeness, while darkish varieties will have an unpleasant dryish taste.

Prepare the required cooking container. Pour water into it and fill it with the required amount of corn cobs. Add a little salt to the water and turn on the stove. Once the water reaches a boil, simmer the contents of the pan for about fifteen minutes. After this time, the young corn will be able to reach the correct level of cooking.

Some cooking techniques may add a pinch of sugar to the water to enrich the overall flavor of the cereal.

Mexicans add syrups and even milk to the water for cooking this product. You need to add sugar at the rate of 1 tablespoon per ten heads of cabbage.. We will tell you more about how long to cook young corn below.

Check the final product for readiness. To do this, prepare a fork and lightly pierce the cooked cobs. If the corn has reached a suitable level of readiness, the fork will go in easily; it will take a little force to work on the damp grain.

For proper cooking, you must ensure that the water level in the saucepan is high enough to completely cover the entire contents. If the water is two to three centimeters above the fruits, they are guaranteed to cook evenly and correctly.

After the product is cooked, you can bring it to an even more “tasty” state. To do this, rub it with salt, oil or a mixture of various spices.

If you add salt to the water while cooking the cabbage, it will become coarser. Therefore, they need to be salted five minutes before they are ready or already while serving the finished product.

Do not cook the product over constant high heat. Reduce the intensity of the flame after the water boils.
It is best to eat a freshly prepared warm product. The fact is that when the fruit cools, it begins to harden noticeably, which noticeably reduces its taste.

It is best to immerse the cobs not in cold water, but in water that has already been brought to a boil.
In addition to sugar, you can add a little butter to the water: this will make the product more tender and soft.

How long to cook young corn

Let's talk a little about cooking young cobs. It is worth considering that the younger the product, the less time it requires to prepare. The same rule applies in reverse: the older the corn, the longer it will take to reach a state of complete readiness.

So, by placing young products in a cauldron, they will reach a state of readiness in 20-25 minutes. After you remove the water from the pan, cover the container with a lid and wrap it in a warm towel.. This method will help the product to steam thoroughly, become soft and juicy.

How to cook corn correctly

After the water in the pan reaches a boil, you need to slightly reduce the gas and cook it for twenty minutes.

After this time, the water in the cauldron will become more cloudy and begin to foam: in this case, it is urgent to remove the product from the pan. Cloudiness of the water indicates that the cereal has begun to secrete sugar, and if this is not stopped, the fruit will lose its rich, slightly sweet taste.

There is an idea among people that this product needs to be cooked for at least forty minutes. This opinion passed from housewife to housewife from generation to generation until someone decided to reduce the cooking time.

This decision prompted culinary experts to think that this fruit reaches readiness much earlier than this time and its taste is even more rich.

How long to cook bonduelle corn

This variety of corn is a real find for vegetarians and the elderly. The fact is that in the first case, the product is able to provide the required amount of protein that can be easily digested, and in the second case it helps prevent atherosclerosis - a disease of cholesterol plaques.

If you decide to purchase this variety, you will probably be faced with the question of how long it will take to cook bonduelle corn.

To prepare this variety of cereal, you need to start processing it. Clean the corn from unnecessary darkened particles, wash thoroughly and place in a container. Hairs and leaves can be placed at the bottom to enrich the overall flavor.

Break cobs that are too large into several pieces so that they can be conveniently placed in a container. If desired, add a pinch of sugar to the cauldron and turn on the stove. After the water boils, cook the contents for ten to fifteen minutes.

After this time, leave the cobs in the water for about five minutes to soften them. Serve the product on a plate along with butter or salt.

To prepare cereal in a multicooker, you will have to go through all the cooking steps described above, but you need to specify the “legumes” cooking mode. If this item is not available, you can turn on the classic “cooking” or “soup” mode.

During cooking, you can periodically check the readiness of the product using a fork. Don't forget to fill the kitchen "machine" to the top and cover the top of the cobs with leaves.

Cooking corn in different ways: cooking time

There are many options for preparing this cereal in a way that brings out the multi-faceted flavor of corn. To successfully create a dish, the cook must be well aware of how long to cook corn on the cob, and what tricks there are to make it as tasty as possible.

To cook cobs in the oven, you need to prepare a deep baking sheet and grease its surface with butter. Next, sort, peel and wash the cobs thoroughly.

Place them in a baking tray and fill it halfway with water. Next, cover the container with foil and bake it for one or two hours. The exact baking time depends on the ripeness of the cobs, so in this case you need to pay attention to the degree of cooking. More details about this will be written below.

Double boiler

The steamer must be filled with water. Grease the grate with butter, place the cleaned cobs in it and close the lid tightly. In this case, the cooking time most often reaches forty minutes.

Microwave

A microwave is a piece of kitchen equipment that is found in almost every home. In order to cook corn using a microwave oven, place the cobs in water for about an hour, then in a plastic bag, pour a little water into it and tie it tightly.

Don't forget to make several holes in the bag so that steam can escape from it periodically. Turn your microwave on the highest power setting and cook the corn for fifteen minutes.

Air fryer

To prepare the product using an air fryer, wrap them in cling film and lay them out. Next, adjust the temperature to approximately 205 degrees and cook the cobs for forty minutes.

How to check the doneness of corn

We've figured out how long to cook corn on the cob, but how do you know if it's ready? In order to understand this, there are several ways. Remove the head of cabbage from the pan with a fork, place it on a board or plate and cut off a few grains. Taste them and then determine the degree of readiness of the product. Stick a fork into the grains and determine their softness, and therefore readiness.

The final product can be stored in the refrigerator for a day. After this time, the heads of cabbage will lose their juiciness and become dry. This will make them practically unfit for consumption, which is why you need to calculate the amount of food you prepare.

“Extra” heads of cabbage can be placed in a bag and frozen. Defrosting can take place at room temperature or using a microwave oven.

Overripe corn: can it be fixed?

In order to get rid of the unpleasant qualities of overripe cereals, there is one way. To do this, peel the heads of cabbage, cut them in half and fill them with a mixture of cow's milk and water in equal proportions.

After four hours, the heads of cabbage will become soft, juicy and sweet again. Therefore, they are suitable for further use. By the way, old cobs can be cooked for two or even three hours to achieve readiness.

How long should you cook beans?

We've figured out how to cook corn on the cob in a saucepan, but how long does it take to cook different types of legumes? Very often, a novice cook finds himself at a loss when thinking about this question, since most packages of legumes do not indicate the exact cooking time. In order to avoid such an unpleasant situation, we recommend that you read the following recommendations.

Cooking whole peas will take a long time. Before cooking, you need to place the beans in a container of water and leave it for an hour or an hour and a half. Then drain this water and fill with new cold fluid.

Cooking whole peas will take about an hour and a half, while halved peas do not require pre-soaking and cook for about half an hour.

Large beans require pre-soaking before cooking, just as with peas. Soak it in cold water for about six to ten hours.

Drain the water and boil it for an hour. The green beans will be ready within seven minutes after the water starts boiling. Frozen beans will take about the same time to cook.

To cook lentils, place them in boiling water. The variety affects the cooking time: red lentils are ready 10 minutes after boiling, green lentils after 30, brown lentils after 40.

The nutritional value

Corn was brought to Europe from sunny Mexico in the 16th century. European gourmets could not resist this exquisite delicacy, and corn, appetizing, juicy, ripe, sugary and tender, with a tantalizing aroma, took its rightful place on the tables of royalty and the poor. There are many ways to cook corn, and they are all simple; the main thing is to choose high-quality cobs and master some of the subtleties of preparing the vegetable. In this case, success is guaranteed!

Choosing the “right” cobs

If you want corn dishes to be tasty, soft and nutritious, you should carefully choose it in the store or at the market. It is advisable to buy cobs with leaves, which are a natural “packaging” for grains, protecting them from spoilage and mechanical damage. At the same time, it is good if the leaves are green and not yellow, since this indicates the degree of freshness of the vegetable, and soft, milky-yellow, sweet grains without mold, spots and bald spots should be easily separated from the cob. Bright yellow and hard grains tend to be tough and tasteless after cooking.

Secrets of cooking corn

  • Before cooking, corn can be soaked for a couple of hours to soften the grains.
  • It is best to cook cobs in unsalted water, as salt makes the grains tough.
  • You can cook corn directly with the leaves, after removing the fibers - this will give it flavor and juiciness.
  • Cook young corn for no more than 20 minutes, and overripe corn for at least 2 hours. During the cooking process, you can take a sample - if the grain is soft, tasty and sweet, the corn is ready!
  • Drain the water, cover the pan with a lid and wrap it in a warm towel, since the cobs should “cook” a little after cooking. This evaporation will make the corn more tender and palatable.
  • Peel the leaves from the cobs, sprinkle with salt, pour in butter, and you can begin the royal meal.

Alternative ways to cook corn

In the oven. Grease a deep form with oil, place the washed cobs, pour in water (it should cover the cobs halfway), cover the form with foil and place in the oven for 40-120 minutes, depending on the ripeness of the grains.

In a steamer. Fill the container with water, grease the grate with butter, add the corn and cook for 40 minutes with the lid tightly closed.

In the microwave. Soak the cobs for an hour in cool water, then place them in a plastic bag, add a couple of tablespoons of water, tie tightly and make several small holes for steam to escape. Microwave the corn at maximum power for 15 minutes in a special bowl.

In a convection oven. Wrap the cobs in cling film, place in a convection oven and bake at 210 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

In a slow cooker. Fill the multicooker with water to the maximum level, place the cobs, cover them with the removed leaves, set the high pressure mode, and in 15 minutes the juicy, spicy and amazingly tender corn is ready!

Corn can be grilled, made into delicious salads, popcorn, tortilla chips, polenta, cornbread, canned, fried, added to soups, pizza, pie fillings and vegetable stews. A huge number of varieties of corn grow in Mexico - white, red, blue, and even black, but for us Russians, yellow is enough if you learn how to cook it correctly and tastefully!