A Strange Find (on the table last night)

I did tell you that I didn't find anything gross which was very true.  But I did find something that I had forgotten about and to the average person would appear as strange.


Dried Sweet Corn on the Cob

A bag of dried sweet corn still on the cob.  At the end of the season when the corn is getting to tough to be tasty, just let it dry on the stock.  Leave it as long as you can.  If it isn't 100% dry when you bring it in, pull the dried husks back and hang them in a cool dry spot.


Remove full kernels from the cob

Carefully remove the full kernels from the cobs.  Once the first couple are off the they will roll off very easily.  It looks very similar to seed corn or dried field corn.  For you city slickers, there is a close up photo below.


Dried Sweet Corn

Are you thinking, that is a lot of work! What are you going to do with that?  This is a memory from my childhood.  I would go out to Grandma Field's and pick the dried corn off of the stocks.  We de-husked some of them right away.  First we made corn husk dolls. 


Corn Husk Dolls

Grandma's is on the left and mine is on the right.  Then we sat down and took care of the corn that was on the cob.  I got to take some home with me for helping. You are still thinking big deal?


Dried Sweet Corn in the Air Popper?

Grandma used to make this by putting a little bit of oil (possibly lard) in the bottom of a skittle.  Then covering it we stayed close and listened for the popping to slow down.  NO we didn't have fluffy white puffs.  We had golden-brown kernels that were delicate and crispy.


Popped Sweet Corn

We made what is now called "Corn Nuts" or homemade popped sweet corn.  Sure it works fine in the air popper. I put 1/3-1/2 the kernels that I would if I were making regular popcorn.  After all they expand and pop but unlike popcorn they won't fly out of the popper.  When the pops are slowing down, turn it off and dump out the kernels.  I melt a very small amount of butter, moisten the kernels with the butter and sprinkle with seasoning.  (You could use olive oil if you wanted.  But you need a bit of something to help the seasoning stick to the kernels.)  What is good for seasoning?  Sea salt, garlic and herb seasoning, any granular seasoning that you prefer.  I recommend sprinkling a couple of kernels and trying it before you do a whole batch.  Enjoy!