From Red Corn Silk to Cold Raw Milk

Just the other day the sweet corn in our corn patch had beautiful candy apple red silk billowing out of the ears.  It made for a stark contrast against the green stalks and leaves.  The red of the silk let me know that they aren't quite ready yet.

Female (ear shoot)

The tassel at the top of the corn stalk is the male structure, while the ear is the female structure.  The tassel will shed pollen.  Conditions have to be just right for this to take place - it can't be too wet or too dry and it generally occurs in the morning hours.  The anthers on the tassel open and drops pollen and the silk catches it with sticky hairs on the silk.  Pollen is very light and can travel up to 50 feet, pollinating other cornstalks as it drifts by.  When each strand of silk is pollinated, it will form a kernel of corn within the ear.

Male (tassel)

You know that the sweet corn is ready for picking when the silk has turned a dark brown color.  It sort of dries up and the beautiful red color fades into a dull dark brown shade.  

Ready to pick.  Go grab a bucket

You could start picking them all at this point or you could check one just to be sure. I have a little tradition that I started doing a couple of years ago that I really enjoy. Standing out in the corn patch, I pick the first ear of the season, pull the husk back to shuck the corn, and then I pull all the silk out of the way.  Then, while I'm standing there, I'll devour the sweet corn raw, fresh as you can get. It is sweet and delicious and I think about how quickly time passes since we planted it.  In early April THIS was how it looked, and now...

A bucket full of ears of sweet corn

Sweet corn doesn't have the adjective 'sweet' attached to it for no reason.  I've found that ants are attracted to it and not only do they bite you while you are picking the corn, but they cause damage to the ears, eating the kernels and leaving a sticky brownish substance behind.  In researching this, there seems to be disagreement regarding whether or not ants will eat corn.  Some say that the ants are "farming" aphids and that aphids are the real problem, but I don't have aphids.  I do, however, have fire ants and those boogers like sweet corn almost as much as I do.

Children of the Corn

So we picked a few ears, brought them inside and shucked them, feeding the stalks to the cows who devoured them in short order.  We cut off pieces of the corn that had damage from insects.  Believe it or not there was not a single worm on the corn. We had a couple dozen ears done in no time flat. This particular heirloom variety is called Golden Bantaam Sweet Corn.

Prepping the corn

And now it is time to eat.  There's nothing like eating local - especially when local is right outside the back door.  Our meal consisted of a Louisiana staple - Rice and Gravy.  My wife always teases me about how we highlight the rice & gravy, leaving the meat out of the description.  In this case the meat was from shoulder steak from our grass-fed steer.  Moving counterclockwise up the plate from the rice & gravy, we have a fresh picked picked ear of sweet corn, fermented ginger carrots, new potatoes and green beans, and a big, thick slice of Heirloom Black Krim tomato.  I don't want to leave out the glass of Daisy's milk at the 11 o'clock position in the photo below.  It is almost as sweet as the corn. 

A satisfying home-cooked meal

I've said it a hundred times.  It is a great feeling to consume good food that you produce right there on your land - Makes me and my taste buds very happy.  Once we thank God for providing our food for us, the feast commences.  And soon... 

Scraping the Plate

There's nothing left.  It's all gone.  From the seed to the silk to the raw cow's milk, country living is the good life!