A creamed corn mixture

Press, 26 March 1980, Page 12

A creamed corn mixture

ALISON HOLST - • .V. •■ - WtJ'S'A--.' •-

KITCHEN DIARY

Recently, at a roadside stall, we unwisely selected 20 corn-cobs which were too big, and too mature. We soon realised that we could not eat the corn on the cobs, so I had to work out some way to make it edible.

After some trials, I produced a creamed corn mixture — which is good, as a snadwich filling, toasted corn rolls, . soup and savoury fillings. Preparing the corn this way meant that the tough kernel covers, (“toe-nails”) were thrown out with the cob-1

If you' try this recipe with younger corn-cobs which contain more sugar and less starch, you will have to alter the seasoning, reduce the amount of

water added, and perhaps even thicken the mixture with cornflour.

Holding the cob firmly, run down the rows of kernels with a floating bladed potato peeler. If your peeler is old, try a sawing action rather than a straight run. Try to cut as little from each kernel as possible. Next — with a tablespoon, scrape out the contents of the open kernels. It is easiest to run the spoon from the middle of the cob to the bottom, all the way round the cob, then to turn the cob, hold the emptied end, and repeat the performance. Hold the spoon so that the bowl of it faces the benchtop. Transfer the cut tips and the scraped pulp into a measuring container.

For mature, starchy corn, add two cups of water, two tablespoons of sugar, and one tablespoon of salt to each six cups of corn pulp.

— Use level standard spoon measures.) Heat the mixture in a saucepan, stirring constantly. As soon as it boils and thickens, remove it from the heat.

I found that 10 large corn-cobs produced six cups of scraped pulp. After cooking, I finished up with, six cups of (thickened creamed corn. The cooked creamed corn can be frozen or refrigerated.

If it is frozen before cooking, its flavour will deteriorate with long storage. The mixture should not be bottled unless you use a pressure cooker to process the jars.

For sandwich fillings use the corn alone, with grated cheese and/or chopped celery or green peppers. For toasted corn rolls, butter fresh sand-wich-sliced bread. Cut off two crusts, spread the corn mixture over the unbuttered side, and roll up.

Grill or bake in a hot oven until the bread is golden brown and crisp. Rolls prepared like this, using freshly made corn filling can be frozen for two or three weeks before cooking. Thawed corn filling should not be refrozen as rolls.