Questions and Answers

This page answers frequently asked questions about produce.

Why don't you grow Silver Queen?
Silver Queen is a very old variety of corn. It was a very sweet corn when it was young and had small kernels, however the ears quickly get big and the kernels become hard and the corn is no longer very good. You can only pick from the same patch of sweet corn for a short period of time. Also modern super-sweet varieties of corn are produced to stay sweet even as the kernels get bigger. In addition Silver Queen didn't produce nearly as well as some of today's varieties, and Silver Queen was more prone to diseases.

Doesn't all yellow corn taste bad?
No. Before today's varieties of corn most yellow corn was considered bad. The reason for this is because many farmers would pull their field corn (cattle or hog corn) when it was young and sell it. It is edible but isn't very sweet, this lead to people thinking that yellow corn wasn't ever any good. Today however yellow corn can be just as good as white or bi-color. The color of the corn makes no difference in the taste. The maturity rate of the plant is the biggest factor in the sweetness of the corn. The longer it takes the corn to grow, in general, the sweeter the corn will be.

How do you cook corn?
(Note for boiling and microwaving the corn needs to be shucked and silked first)
Boiling - Boil water, put the corn in and let it boil for 2-3 minutes. It's then ready to eat.
Microwaving - Wrap the ear in wax paper and microwave for 30-40 seconds, then turn the ear over and microwave for another 30-40 seconds.
Grilling - Do not shuck the corn. Let the ears soak in water for about an hour then put them on the grill. When the shucks start to burn turn it over and grill the other side. It should take about half an hour.