Pick Your Produce: Corn On The Cob!! A Pick and a Trick!!

 Another installment of "Pick Your Produce"!  This time around we are sharing with you, Rick's fail proof way to choose the perfect ears of corn!    I am also going to share with you a simple and effective way to remove fresh corn from the cob without making a giant mess of flying corn kernels in your kitchen!

We love doing these simple and informative videos for everyone.  We feel like there are those just beginning to get out on their own and cook for themselves and this is a great way to teach people all about different types of produce and how to choose them properly for maximum enjoyment!

Picking the perfect ears of corn for your barbecue, cookout or just plain eating can be tricky if you don't know what to look for.  It truly was not until I met Rick that I understood how to properly do it.  Normally I would just throw some in a bag and move on.  Sometimes it was good and sometimes not so good.  With this method you will always be assured that the corn you choose will be delicious.

First you want to scope out the freshest looking ears.  Making sure that the silks are not slimy, the husks are green and not dried out and that the ears are plump and not pencil thin.  A great ear of corn is anywhere from an inch to an inch and a half in diameter.

Next you will want to pull a small amount of the husk away from the tassel end.  When you pull back that husk, does it take a bit of strength to release it from the cob?  Do the kernels look plump and not dented?  Do they go all the way to tippy tip of the cob?  You want your corn to look supple and plump.  The kernels should be full and not indented and if you should see all the kernels are indented this is an indication that the cob is old and may have dried out.  You also want to be sure the kernels are fully developed and that the cob is full instead of only being partially full or looking as if birds ate the kernels on the pointy end near the silks.  This could be an indication that the corn was not fully pollinated or that the crop was picked too soon and not all the cobs were able to fully develop on the stalk before being harvested.

Then you want to get your nose in there.  Smell the corn.  Rick always says it should smell like sweet dirt.  I say it smells like fresh green grass right after a summer rain.  If your corn smells like weeds with a bitter after aroma, leave it.  You will not be eating good corn if it smells like that.  We have turned away more corn this summer than we have purchased for this very reason.  

If your corn passes all these rules, then you are ready to enjoy corn for dinner.  Whether you grill it, steam it, pressure cook it or boil it, you are going to love it!  I have even seen people microwave whole ears in the husk and then it pulls right out after it is cooked.  Not my favorite way, but it is effective if you only have a microwave.

I love to make fresh fried corn in my skillet and that requires I remove the corn from the cob.  I have found the best and easiest way to do that is the use of a Bundt pan!  Just pop the corn cob in the middle and then run your knife all around.  The corn is caught in the pan and there is no fuss or muss in the kitchen!  Then you are ready to move on with your recipe!

I hope you give these tips and tricks for choosing the perfect ear of corn and then removing it from the cob a try and I hope you love it!

Happy Eating!

You can see our installment of Pick Your Produce; Corn on the Cob on my YouTube channel here:

Pick Your Produce! How to Pick the Perfect Avocado!

Today we begin a new intermittent series called "Pick Your Produce".  In this series we hope to help you understand how to best pick particular produce that may be baffling you or maybe you just never understood how to choose the best one of something or other.  Today we begin with avocados!

Avocados are often associated with Mexican food and are best known as the main ingredient in Guacamole.  It is the fruit, actually it is botanically a large berry, of the avocado tree which is native to Mexico.    The avocado tree has a long history of cultivation in central and south America and there is some evidence that this history may go back as far as 5000 B.C.!  There are many varieties of the avocado, including heritage varieties.  In America the most popular variety hails from California and is widely known by the "Haas" name.  Avocados are grown the world over in tropical and sub tropical climates.

Picking the perfect avocado is easy, if you know what you are looking for and just like with everything else, there is a learning curve.  This isn't rocket science, but there are a couple of tips and trick to help you on your way to getting the best avocado you can for your meal. 

First you have to decide if you are going to want to eat the fruit immediately or if you are going to wait a day or two.  This will determine the ripeness of the fruit you choose.  Pick avocados that are heavy for their size, they should fit in the palm of your hand.  If they are on the bright green side, this is an indication that it is not fully ripe and when you give it a gentle squeeze with your finger, and it feels heard and does not yield easily to that pressure, your avocado is not good for eating today, but it will be in a day or two. 

If you want to eat your avocado today, then look for fruits that are greenish black to black in color and again, hold in the palm of your hand and apply gentle pressure.  If the flesh yields and leave a bit of a dent then you are good to go.  If you hold the fruit and it feels mushy like a water balloon, then leave it, that one is not fit for anything but the compost. 

To ripen an avocado you can simply leave it on your counter and wait a couple of days or some people like to put them in a paper bag with either an apple or a banana and close it up and the next day they should be ready to eat.

When your avocado is ripe you can cut it around the middle and give it a gentle twist and it should separate from the pit easily.  If you are only going to eat half, eat the half without the pit.  Leave the pit in the other half and put it in a plastic bag or sealed container with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice.  Leaving the pit in the other half will help it to retain its freshness.  At least that is my personal experience.  Store any ripe avocados in the fridge till you are ready to use them.  Don't buy more than you can eat in a few days.

Avocados are a love it or hate it type of fruit.  In our house we have two who LOVE them one who HATES them and one who can take them or leave them.  I could personally eat avocados all day long.  The are often seen on the side of a sandwich, or in a salad or on some hearty toast for breakfast.  They are also known to be thrown into a smoothie every now and then to add rich creaminess without adding dairy.

Avocados are nutrient dense super food that everyone can benefit from enjoying.  They are the only food to naturally contain good monounsaturated fats.  That is good fat for you and I!   They are naturally cholesterol and sodium free! Nutrient dense avocados provide a substantial amount of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients with relatively few calories. One-fifth of a medium avocado has 50 calories and contributes nearly 20 vitamins and minerals, making it a great nutrient dense food choice.  Avocados act as a “nutrient booster” by helping  to increase absorption of fat-soluble nutrients like Vitamins A, D, K and E.  So in short avocados are awesome for your health!  Avocados are also an excellent "first food" for baby!  The smooth creamy texture is something that most little ones will enjoy and with all the nutritional benefits contained in that little green fruit, how can you go wrong! 

So I hope this is helpful information about how to pick the perfect avocado for you to enjoy today tomorrow or the day after!  I hope that you will use it well and enjoy avocados more often!  While they are available most of the year, the spring/summer season is the time they are most plentiful and at their peak of deliciousness.  So that is how you pick your produce in avocados! 

I hope you give this method a try and I hope you love it!

Happy Eating!

You can see my demonstration of how to choose a great avocado in my YouTube video here: