In article ,
Martin wrote:

His information on how to tell if sweet corn is ready to be picked was
a load of cobblers too. Naively on Friday afternoon SWMBO picked sweet
corn that by his definition was not ready to be picked. We ate it just
before the programme. It was perfect.

Having been brought up on the stuff, I prefer mine riper than it
gets in many British summers (like this one), and am not keen on
the 'extra sweet' varieties :-(

Judging from what we ate on Friday ours was an extra sweet variety.
Maybe it would have been nauseatingly sweet if it had been left to
ripen longer.

No, it's the converse. As it ripens, it converts the sugar to
starch. The "extra sweet varieties" are bred so that they both
accumulate more sugar and convert it to starch less readily.
The trouble about the UK is that ripening slows to a stop about
now, unless we get an Indian summer, and the next stage will be
mere shrivelling or even rotting.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.