In reply to FarmI (ask@itshall be given) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say
:

"Tim W" wrote in message
Books tell me various things but I still don't know.

Peel back the leaves and look at the colour - okay but I don't have
enough to spoil it by looking.

Not a good indication.

Stick your finger nail in and see if the juice is milky - as above

Yep.

Wait until the tassels are brown - just wrong afaics

Not the tassels. If the tassels are brown your corn will be soo far
gone even the poultry will have trouble eating it. Perhaps you meant
to write the silks? The silks on the cob should be brown but
reasonably newly so. Don't leave the cobs for long after the silk has
gone brown or the corn will become overripe.

Any other methods? One book says the time of picking is critical for
sweetness.

Yes as is the time from the garden to the pot. The normal advice is
to have the pot of water boiling as you pick the cobs.

I thought that too. Tassels are the pollinating bits (and apparently the
correct word *is* tassel), whereas (I'm starting to sound like a bl**dy
lawyer) the silks are the other end.

What do I know, apart from what the bits are called?

I had one from someone last week and had it, microwaved, without any pepper
and butter. It was ace. I have decided that if the corns are really any good
they don't need anything at all on them.