Boiled corn on the cob. Learning to cook corn in a pan: photos and step-by-step recipes on how to cook it on the cob with salt

In order for boiled corn to meet the expectations of your taste buds, you need to choose the right cobs in the store or at the market. The most delicious ones are sold until the end of August. Later ones may be overripe and tough.

You can check the age of corn by crushing one grain. A white liquid resembling milk will flow from the young seeds.

Young corn with grains of milky white or light yellow color is ideal for cooking. The cob should be soft to the touch, but at the same time elastic. The grains should fit tightly together and be approximately the same size.

Pay special attention to the leaves. Good corn is green, dense, and fresh.

The perfect cob / butimhungry.com

You should not buy corn without leaves. Perhaps the seller deliberately removed them to hide the poor quality of the product from you.

How to cook corn on the stove

Boil water in a saucepan and put the corn in it. There is no need to remove the leaves: when cooked, they will add additional flavor and juiciness to the corn. But it’s better to get rid of the stigmas. The cobs should be the same size so that they cook at the same time.

Young corn is cooked for 20–25 minutes, mature corn for at least 2 hours.

To speed up the cooking process, you can soak old corn in water for 2-4 hours beforehand. The grains will soften and cook faster.

Towards the end of cooking, remove a sample from the dish: use a fork to pry up one grain and bite into it. If it is soft and juicy, the corn is ready. Drain the water, tightly cover the pan with a lid and wrap in a towel. Wait 10–15 minutes. This evaporation makes the corn more delicate in taste.

Remove the leaves from the finished hot corn and serve. Salt and butter - to taste.

How to cook corn in the microwave

Clean the corn and soak in cold water for 1 hour. Then put it in a plastic bag, pour 2 tablespoons of clean water at room temperature into it. Tie the bag tightly and poke a couple of small holes in it to allow steam to circulate. Place the cobs in a bowl and place it in the microwave. Cook for 15 minutes on maximum power.

You can cook it even faster. Wash the cobs, remove leaves and fibers. Wrap the corn tightly in a paper towel soaked in water and place on a plate. Select maximum power and place the cereal in the oven for 5 minutes. All! The corn is ready.

Remove the corn from the microwave using tongs; it will be very hot.

How to cook corn in a slow cooker

Remove fibers and leaves from the cobs and wash thoroughly. Pour water into the multicooker to the maximum mark, place the corn inside. If the whole cob does not fit into the bowl, cut it into several pieces. Select high pressure mode and set the timer for 15 minutes. At the end of cooking, take out the corn, let it dry a little, season with salt and oil to taste.

How to cook corn in a pressure cooker

Clean the corn from all excess and wash. Place the cobs (whole or chopped) in the bowl of a household appliance. Cook the corn on high power if the pressure cooker is electric, or on medium heat if the pressure cooker is mechanical. Cooking time is from 10 to 40 minutes depending on the age of the cobs.

Eat the corn hot immediately after cooking. When cooling, the grains lose their juiciness and harden.

How to cook corn in the oven

Grease a deep baking dish with butter. Place the corn, washed and cleared of leaves and stigmas, there. Pour warm boiled water so that the cobs are half in it. Cover the pan with a sheet of foil. Place the corn in an oven preheated to 180°C for 40 minutes if the corn is young, and for 120 minutes if the cobs are mature. Add salt to the finished dish.

Corn is a healthy and nutritious product. It contains vitamins, microelements, saturated and fatty acids.

Corn is a good preventive measure for cardiovascular diseases, normalizes metabolism, helps remove toxins and waste from the body and has many other advantages.

And all you need to do is eat 40-50 grams of corn a day to supply your body with all the beneficial substances it contains. You just need to cook the corn correctly, otherwise all the valuable substances will easily disappear!

How to cook corn?

In summer you can often find corn sellers on the street. But you don’t know how the “queen of the fields” was prepared and whether it retained its nutritional value. And it will be much better if you prepare it yourself at home, because it’s not at all difficult to do! How to cook corn at home?

How to choose the right corn?

First you need to buy corn and there are some secrets here. There are quite a few varieties of corn: there is feed corn, intended for animal feed, and food corn, intended for human consumption. Therefore, when buying corn, ask, if possible, where it was grown: on a personal plot or in the fields and for what purposes.

Please note that the cob is not peeled from the wrapper and stigmas - this will prevent the corn from drying out, and it is much better to cook it in this form. It is also worth selecting cobs whose greens are not frayed or dried out. This suggests that the corn was stored for a short time and it retained its properties.

To ensure that the corn is soft when cooking, you need to take it only when it is milky fresh. Young corn is much tastier than ripe corn, because... the process of converting sugar into starch has not yet completed in the grains. Ripe corn is tasteless and not aromatic. Bite into one grain, breaking it off at the very base: if the grain is soft and there is water inside, it means the corn is young and can be safely purchased. The tougher and drier the seed inside, the riper the cob.

How long to cook corn?

It would seem such a simple question: how long does it take to cook corn? And there are several answers. Depending on the type of corn, its cooking time varies. If the variety is early (early ripening), then it should be cooked from 30 minutes (for milky freshness - 10 minutes) to 1.5 hours. If you purchased late varieties of corn or fodder (this also happens), the cooking time will take from 2 to 6 hours. That is, young fresh corn cooks much faster than old one.

How long to cook corn?

The most convenient way to cook corn on the cob is a thick-walled and deep dish with a lid that fits tightly to the dish. It can be a cauldron or a cast iron pot - the main thing is that the dishes heat up evenly. The heat during cooking should be low - this way the nutrients in the corn will be better preserved.

Before cooking, rinse the cobs thoroughly, remove dirty leaves, but do not peel clean ones. Place the unpeeled corn cobs in a bowl, pour 3-5 cm of water on top of them and put on fire. To keep the corn soft, do not add salt to the water when cooking.

Since the degree of maturity of the cobs is predetermined, you already know how long the corn will cook (if young - from 10 minutes, mature - 2-3 hours). Color and smell are not an indicator of the readiness of corn. Readiness can be determined by taste. When the time is up, try one grain. If the grain is easy to chew and soft inside, then the corn is ready.


It is best to eat freshly cooked corn. Cooled corn doesn't taste as good. Just make sure that it stands for a while so as not to get burned. The finished cob can be greased with butter and sprinkled with salt to taste.

How to cook corn in a double boiler?

Many people don’t even think that corn can and even should be boiled in a double boiler. After all, steamed corn differs from the classic cooking of cobs in water by its juiciness and richer taste. The secret is simple - the nutrients and sweetness of the corn do not go into the water, but remain in the product.


Pre-clean each cob of leaves, stigmas and tendrils, rinse, and then place in a steam basket. Each steamer comes with instructions with a sign indicating how long each product needs to be cooked. As a rule, corn is cooked in a double boiler for 10-15 minutes. When serving, rub the corn with butter and salt.

How to cook corn in the microwave?

Take milky fresh corn. Before cooking, it must be washed and cleaned of hairs and leaves. Break or cut the cobs in half, but if your container can accommodate whole corn, this is not necessary.

How to cook corn in the microwave?

Place the cobs in a bowl, add water so that the corn is completely hidden under it, and cover with a lid. Set the timer for 45 minutes at a power of 800 watts. From time to time it is necessary to monitor the water level in the dishes; if there is not enough, press pause and add more.

The second method of boiling corn in the microwave is much easier, you just need microwaveable food bags. Also peel and rinse the corn, put it in bags, and tie it so that the air in the bag does not escape. Set the timer for 7 minutes at a power of 800 watts. When the time is up, the corn is ready!

How to cook corn in a pressure cooker?

If the cobs are young, then they cook almost instantly in a pressure cooker. Wash the corn and, without peeling it, place it in the pressure cooker. Add enough water so that the corn is completely immersed in it; you can refer to the instructions for your machine. Cook the cobs for 10-15 minutes (if the corn is old - 40 minutes). Serve the corn hot, rub with salt and butter.

How to cook corn in milk?

Wash and clean the cobs thoroughly before cooking. It is more convenient and faster to cook corn in a microwave or pressure cooker. Place the cobs in a bowl, pour in milk, there should be about 0.5 cm of milk on top of the corn. Add 50 grams of butter. Cover with a lid and microwave for 30-45 minutes.


There is another way to cook corn in milk. Take milky corn, wash it, peel it and separate the kernels from the cob. Boil the grains in milk until soft. Add butter. You can serve this corn yourself, just first drain the milk and salt the corn. Or, without draining the milk, add lightly toasted wheat flour (2 tablespoons), season with salt and boil, stirring.

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In order for boiled corn to meet the expectations of your taste buds, you need to choose the right cobs in the store or at the market. The most delicious ones are sold until the end of August. Later ones may be overripe and tough.

You can check the age of corn by crushing one grain. A white liquid resembling milk will flow from the young seeds.

Young corn with grains of milky white or light yellow color is ideal for cooking. The cob should be soft to the touch, but at the same time elastic. The grains should fit tightly together and be approximately the same size.

Pay special attention to the leaves. Good corn is green, dense, and fresh.

The perfect cob / butimhungry.com

You should not buy corn without leaves. Perhaps the seller deliberately removed them to hide the poor quality of the product from you.

How to cook corn on the stove

Boil water in a saucepan and put the corn in it. There is no need to remove the leaves: when cooked, they will add additional flavor and juiciness to the corn. But it’s better to get rid of the stigmas. The cobs should be the same size so that they cook at the same time.

Young corn is cooked for 20–25 minutes, mature corn for at least 2 hours.

To speed up the cooking process, you can soak old corn in water for 2-4 hours beforehand. The grains will soften and cook faster.

Towards the end of cooking, remove a sample from the dish: use a fork to pry up one grain and bite into it. If it is soft and juicy, the corn is ready. Drain the water, tightly cover the pan with a lid and wrap in a towel. Wait 10–15 minutes. This evaporation makes the corn more delicate in taste.

Remove the leaves from the finished hot corn and serve. Salt and butter - to taste.

How to cook corn in the microwave

Clean the corn and soak in cold water for 1 hour. Then put it in a plastic bag, pour 2 tablespoons of clean water at room temperature into it. Tie the bag tightly and poke a couple of small holes in it to allow steam to circulate. Place the cobs in a bowl and place it in the microwave. Cook for 15 minutes on maximum power.

You can cook it even faster. Wash the cobs, remove leaves and fibers. Wrap the corn tightly in a paper towel soaked in water and place on a plate. Select maximum power and place the cereal in the oven for 5 minutes. All! The corn is ready.

Remove the corn from the microwave using tongs; it will be very hot.

How to cook corn in a slow cooker

Remove fibers and leaves from the cobs and wash thoroughly. Pour water into the multicooker to the maximum mark, place the corn inside. If the whole cob does not fit into the bowl, cut it into several pieces. Select high pressure mode and set the timer for 15 minutes. At the end of cooking, take out the corn, let it dry a little, season with salt and oil to taste.

How to cook corn in a pressure cooker

Clean the corn from all excess and wash. Place the cobs (whole or chopped) in the bowl of a household appliance. Cook the corn on high power if the pressure cooker is electric, or on medium heat if the pressure cooker is mechanical. Cooking time is from 10 to 40 minutes depending on the age of the cobs.

Eat the corn hot immediately after cooking. When cooling, the grains lose their juiciness and harden.

How to cook corn in the oven

Grease a deep baking dish with butter. Place the corn, washed and cleared of leaves and stigmas, there. Pour warm boiled water so that the cobs are half in it. Cover the pan with a sheet of foil. Place the corn in an oven preheated to 180°C for 40 minutes if the corn is young, and for 120 minutes if the cobs are mature. Add salt to the finished dish.

In the market, you need to know a few secrets that will certainly help you. It has quite a lot of varieties, the main ones being: food and feed. Feed corn is tougher and will take longer to cook, while food corn is usually soft and sweet. It is difficult to distinguish them by eye; it is best to clarify where it was grown: in the fields or in the seller’s garden. By the way, it is prohibited to sell feed corn in stores, so you don’t have to specify there whether the variety is guaranteed to be food grade.

However, the secrets don't end there. Any cob comes in three types: either young, or ripe, or old. For family consumption, it is best to buy young corn; it is the sweetest, juiciest and cooks very quickly. You can distinguish them quite simply:

  • old corn has a small indentation inside its kernels - such corn is unlikely to be enjoyable, will take a long time to cook and, most likely, will remain hard;
  • ripe corn is tasteless and has no aroma, because its grains have already completed the process of converting sugar into starch;
  • You can distinguish young corn from ripe corn if, after pinching off a grain and pressing on it, you see water flowing out of it, and the grain itself is soft to the touch, then this is the corn you need to buy.

When buying corn, make sure that it has not been hulled. The leaves and stigmas will keep the corn soft and prevent it from drying out. Cleaning is best done at home. And cook it immediately after purchase, a freshly picked head of cabbage. If this is not possible, then store it in a plastic bag for no longer than two to three days.

Traditional cooking method

There are a huge variety of cooking methods; MirSovetov suggests starting with the traditional one.

  1. Remove leaves from the head of cabbage. It is best to remove only the top sheets, rinse them thoroughly in running water and place them on the bottom of the pan. Place the corn on top to cook. The lower leaves in which the corn will be cooked will give it greater softness.
  2. It is best to take a cast iron pan, with thick walls and a thick bottom. Fill the corn with enough water to cover and place on the heat.
  3. Cooking time varies depending on the variety and type of corn:
  • the young one will cook for 10-20 minutes;
  • old, ripe and fodder can be cooked from 20 minutes to several hours.
  • It is best not to add salt to the water; salt will make the grains harder. But adding spices to add flavor is highly recommended.
  • It is believed that approximately 20 minutes after the start of cooking, the corn is ready, but this moment must be caught. If it is missed, the cooking time can last for many hours.

    By the way, if you like the color of the corn, this is not an indicator that it is ready. During the cooking process, pinch off a grain at a time and taste it: if you feel that you are completely satisfied with the softness and taste, then it’s time to remove it from the heat.

    Additional cooking methods

    It's the 21st century and almost every housewife has many home helpers: a pressure cooker, a microwave. All these miracles of technology can also be used to cook aromatic corn for family and friends.

    Cooking corn in a double boiler

    The steamer is known for its ability to have minimal impact on the product, preserving its properties and taste as much as possible. The same goes for corn: it is rich in vitamins, micro- and macroelements, has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular and digestive systems, and if you want to preserve all this in a larger volume, you should use a double boiler.

    To do this, clean the cob of all leaves, tendrils, stigmas, and rinse it thoroughly under running water. That's it, the corn is ready for cooking, place it in a double boiler and set the timer for the time specified in the instructions. Usually it takes no more than 15 minutes - you must agree, it’s much faster and easier than cooking in a saucepan.

    Cooking corn in the microwave

    There are two ways to cook corn in the microwave:

    1. Clean the corn and place it in a saucepan. If the microwave oven size does not allow you to place whole heads of cabbage, you can pre-cut them. Add salt to the water, add spices, set the timer for 45 minutes, and the power to 800 watts. While it is cooking, periodically check the water level: if it drops below the corn, it needs to be topped up.
    2. You will need special microwave-safe food bags. Place corn in them, set the power to 800 watts, and it will take much less time - about 7 minutes. The head of corn must be completely cleared of leaves and tendrils and washed thoroughly.

    Cooking corn in a pressure cooker

    A pressure cooker is definitely a godsend for housewives. You can also cook corn in it quickly and without problems. To do this, you don’t need to clean it, just rinse it and put it in a saucepan as is. Fill with water, completely covering the heads of cabbage. Cooking time does not exceed 15 minutes. The exception is old corn, which needs to be cooked for about 45 minutes.

    Alternative Methods for Cooking and Serving Corn

    Now let's talk about unusual ways to cook corn. It must be said that there are quite a few of them, and if you and your family love experiments, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with each of them.

    1. We are used to serving corn warm, rubbed with salt. I would like to note that if you first grease the head of cabbage with butter, the taste will acquire new, unexpected notes.
    2. Corn can be baked in the oven. To do this, peel the corn from all leaves and tendrils and rinse thoroughly. Now rub it with garlic, butter and salt. You can sprinkle with herbs, such as dill. Wrap in foil and bake for 30 minutes. For those who don’t like garlic, you don’t have to use it.
    3. Corn can be cooked not only in water, but also in milk. To do this, you need to thoroughly rinse and clean it, pour milk over the corn so that it covers the cobs, cover with a lid and cook for about 45 minutes. When cooking, you can add 50 g of butter. It is best if the corn in milk is cooked not on the stove, but in a pressure cooker or microwave.

    Cooking corn using the soaking method

    This method is very popular. In order to cook corn in this way, we will need:

    • corn;
    • milk - 0.5-1 l (depending on the amount of corn).

    Peel the heads of cabbage and rinse thoroughly. Now the corn needs to be soaked. If it is large, then cut it in half and fill it with milk.

    So she should lie for 4 hours. Do not forget to turn it throughout the entire time so that each grain is thoroughly marinated.

    After 4 hours, transfer the corn to water and cook as usual without adding salt. Typically the cooking time is 10-15 minutes.

    After cooking, brush with butter and serve.

    We are sure that by using our tips on choosing and preparing corn, you will never cease to amaze your loved ones with the most delicious and tender heads of corn. And you will never again have problems with “oaky” cobs coming out after cooking.

    Before you cook delicious corn, when purchasing, you should pay attention to the variety and degree of maturity of the cobs. Very often, inexperienced housewives buy feed varieties instead of food varieties. Sweet sweet corn turns out tender and juicy, and fodder varieties are more suitable for preparing soups and main courses - their grains are denser and almost not sweet. Dried corn kernels can be used to make popcorn, but sugary corn kernels are better suited for salads, snacks, and serving on the cob.

    Choose unhusked corn - you can tell when the cobs were picked by the leaves. Young corn has bright green leaves and the stigmas, which are delicate hairs, should be light-colored and slightly moist. Checking the degree of ripeness is very simple. Open the leaves so that the cob is exposed approximately to the base - the grains should be smooth, not wrinkled, and have a delicate lemon tint. Press your fingernail on one of the grains - if the skin bursts easily and milky juice comes out, then the corn is young and milky ripe. It is these cobs that have a pleasant sweetish taste and will be tender and juicy after cooking. If starch has already appeared in the grains, then such corn will be tougher and less sweet.

    Depending on the degree of ripeness, the cooking time will vary. How long to cook fresh corn will also depend on where and how you are going to cook it.

    Soft and juicy corn is great for serving as an independent treat or for adding to salads. Before soft-cooking corn, a certain preparation procedure must be carried out.

    Only the top hard leaves need to be removed from the cob, leaving a few thin leaves.

    The stigmas should also not be peeled - they give the unique taste and aroma to this product. It is enough to tear off the upper blackened part of the hairs.

    The cobs prepared in this way should be rinsed in running water and carefully placed on the bottom of a convenient, spacious container - it is best to take a pan with not very thin walls.

    Corn prepared in this way is suitable for salads and snacks. To serve, it is better to clean the leaves completely and place them along with the stigmas on the bottom of the pan and only put the corn on top - this is done because the cobs are served hot and it will be problematic to clean them from the boiled leaves.

    This cereal contains a lot of useful vitamins and amino acids that must be preserved during cooking. That is why it is very important to observe the temperature regime. According to experts, how to properly cook fresh corn, most of the beneficial properties will be preserved if you cook it at a constant high temperature. Therefore, bring water to a boil, pour it over the prepared cobs and bring to a boil over high heat. After this, you will need to cover the pan with a lid and cook over medium heat so that the temperature inside the dish remains constant. Milk corn will be ready in 20 minutes, more mature cobs will be ready in 40-45 minutes.

    Make sure that the corn is completely submerged in water - the top cobs will float, so they will need to be turned over periodically.

    Decide for yourself how long to cook fresh corn - check the grains for readiness. Depending on the variety, the time may take up to several hours - the finished grains should not have a starchy taste. If you bought a feed variety, it is best to cook corn in a pressure cooker or slow cooker at a temperature of 200-250 degrees. Then leave it in the water for a few minutes - this way even not very young corn will turn out juicy and soft.

    Now you know how to quickly cook milky corn. But you should remember one more important point, on which the taste of the finished grains will largely depend.

    Salt - without this food additive, not a single dish will be able to express its unique taste. To emphasize the sweetness of milk corn, sprinkle the finished cobs with a thin layer of salt just before serving. However, do not under any circumstances add salt to the water in which the corn will be boiled. Salt speeds up the boiling process of water and helps maintain a high temperature, but it is salt that speeds up the process of water release from the cereal. Therefore, if you add even a little salt to the water, the grains will no longer be so tender and juicy.

    The taste of the finished treat will depend on how long you cook the corn, so try to buy only freshly picked ears. If you buy shelled cobs, inspect the kernels carefully. But even if you bought a fodder variety of corn by mistake, do not rush to throw it away. Wash the peeled cobs, wipe them dry and place them in the freezer. This kind of corn needs to be boiled a little longer than milk corn, but if you add a pinch of sugar to the water, the grains will be soft and sweet. There is no need to defrost the cobs - immediately place them in boiling water.

    Sweet corn is not only a very tasty plant, but also very healthy. Despite the fact that the grains have a fairly high starch content, this product can well be called medicinal and even dietary. Even in ancient times, these golden grains were called the elixir of youth. Amino acids, which are found in large quantities in the grains of this plant, will help restore shine to your hair, improve memory, restore freshness to the skin and help get rid of a couple of extra pounds. Delicate aromatic grains will give you the warm energy of the sun on a cold cloudy day, lift your spirits and improve your well-being. Don't deny yourself the pleasure. Bon appetit!