On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:38:42 -0700, Todd wrote:
On 08/16/2011 08:42 AM, Kay Lancaster wrote:
Do you know how to pick "store corn" by examining the silks and
feeling the kernels through the husk?

Actually, I don't. My corn, so far, comes frozen in plastic bags
with no cobs in sight. And purchased in a grocery store WHERE
NO PLANTS OR ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE PROCESS! :-D

Oh dear... this sounds like when I moved from Iowa to Oregon. I was sorting
through a pile of corn in the store (most of it picked too old), and
rejecting about 98% of it. Produce manager had apparently never seen
anyone *not* pull the husks back on the corn and do the fingernail test.
So I taught him how to age-grade it by husks and silks.

I've taught that skill more than a few times out here... most puzzling
to a midwesterner who grew up picking corn. g

Anyhow, I recommend you try the sacrificial ear method, and take photos
of what you're seeing every day or two, and spend some time feeling up
the husks vbg. Or if you do have a
good produce department around (or better yet, farmers' markets or
roadside stands), ask someone selling corn to teach you what you're looking
for.

Especially at a real farmer's market, where the vendors have to be the
growers, you can learn a lot about picking good produce just by asking.
Really good grocery stores with really good produce managers can also be
useful. Quick test of produce managers: if the tomatoes and peaches are
brought out of a cooler, this is not where you want to ask for quality
lessons...

And since you only really know corn in a bag: 1) If, when you're ready
to cook, you grab the silks and husks on one side of the ear and
peel them back all together, and then do the other half, you'll have few
excess silks to pick off the ear. If you're dainty about it, it'll take
you forever to husk corn. 2) The tip end (silk end) of corn cobs
rarely fills out completely. Don't worry if the last inch is feeling
kind of thin and the kernels are small or missing. 3) If you're growing
corn at home and planting several batches at several dates, plant in squarish
blocks rather than a row for each date. That helps with pollination.
If you're not growing many corn plants (20 or so), I'd suggest hand
pollination, or your ears will likely have a lot of "blanks" (undeveloped
kernels). Break off a portion of tassel that seems to be releasing pollen, and shake it over the silks of each ear, every morning, for a week after the
pollen starts releasing. Tedious, but the difference in yield per ear
can be pretty amazing. (amaizing???) Each kernel has its own silk, and
that kernel isn't going to develop unless the silk is pollinated.

Kay, who grew up eating dent corn (feed corn) in early milk stage, and
sweet corn in late milk/soft dough.