Your very own Roving Locavore was thinking the other day that, while it is possible to find almost any fresh fruit and vegetable year-round in the modern supermarket, there is one kind of vegetable that has a limited shelf life and can only be eaten for a very few weeks of the year. It’s bumpy and yellow and nature-wrapped in a recyclable container...mmmm...that’s right! Corn on the cob!

While we can all eat frozen corn throughout the winter, the serious corn-ivore is completely at the mercy of the wondrous cob and best enjoys her niblets as she gnaws and swallows, gnaws and swallows (chewing is optional when the pot is full of steaming cobs waiting to be devoured like a starved racoon). While it may surprise you, dear reader, that this sensible and upright personage consumes her corn in such a frenzied manner of eating, all she can say is “pass the salt and keep ’em coming!”

As a result of the unseasonably warm spring and early summer, crops in Waterloo Region are almost two weeks ahead of schedule. And for all you corn-ivores, that means an early start to corn season! For the past 3 weeks, Yours Truly has been making little side trips to Herrles Country Farm Market just outside St. Agatha for her corn fix. Deliberating between two offerings this week (and ultimately drawn to the Gourmet Sweet), her thoughts wandered to the possible differences between the varieties that appear at the Market week after week.

A nifty little pamphlet was procured near the door of the Market explaining that the 20 different varieties of corn grown by the Herrles can be divided into three different groups. The first varieties of the season fall into the Sugary Enhanced Group (20-30% sugar), followed by the Super Sweet (30-50% sugar) and ending with the Gourmet Sweet (also at a whopping 30-50% sugar!). No wonder this sweetheart of a Locavore loves her Gourmet Sweet!

Corn comes in three colours - yellow, white, and bicolour (a mix of yellow and white kernals on a single cob). Contrary to popular belief, Peaches & Cream is not another name for bi-coloured corn. It was a variety grown years ago but has been surpassed by  better bi-coloured varieties. So as to create a cultured class of corn consumers, Your Local Cornivore kindly requests that you learn about the various kinds of corn and please refrain from asking for Peaches & Cream when what you really want is Gourmet Sweet!

Now is the time to get out to the farms and discover the corn of Waterloo Region. Have a corn tasting party! Get to know your corn varieties and pick a favourite or two. Drop us a line here at the Roving Locavore’s Cultured Corn-ivore blog and let us know what you found, why you like it, and how you best like to serve your corn on the cob.