Recipes
» Jumbo
Shrimp with Sweet Corn Succotash, Seared Polenta and Barbecue
Butter
Chef James Richardson of Nook – Los Angeles,
CA
»
Risotto of Chanterelle Mushrooms with Corn and Crispy
Sweetbread
Chef Ethan Mckee of Equinox – Washington,
DC
»
Spiny Lobster with Corn Pudding and Truffled Mascarpone
Sauce
Chef Sean Hardy of The Belvedere – Los
Angeles, CA
»
Strawberry Shortcake with White Corn Ice Cream
Chef Bryan Voltaggio of Charlie Palmer Steak –
Washington, DC
continued.
Top quality ears have fresh, green husks filled with
bright, plump, milky kernels. Sweet corn’s high sugar
content and creamy flavor pairs with everything from shrimp
and lobster to sweetbreads and shortcake, tempering the spice
of barbecue and matching the richness of strawberries and
cream. The sweet corn we know today is a hybrid bred for the
high sugar and low starch that keep it sweet and soft after
harvesting. As an ancient food source, corn was not eaten
in this unprocessed, fresh vegetable state, but rather dried
and ground as a grain. In this form it was the basis of the
diet of many American cultures, from the Incas to the Mayas
to the cliff dwellers of the American Southwest. Corn traveled
west with Columbus and quickly spread throughout Southern
Europe; today it remains a staple in many Latin and European
cuisines and is the world’s third most produced crop.
The sweet varietals that appear each summer
are only one of the five types of corn grown for various purposes
around the globe. The other four – Indian, dent, pop
and flint – are transformed into everything from popcorn,
animal feed, and corn syrup, to a shocking variety of industrial
products. While the presence of corn in both history and modern
industrial agriculture is more about utility than flavor,
its versatile, sweet richness remains an integral part of
an American summer and inspires a broad range of pairings.
Chef James Richardson plays with a classic, matching a corn
succotash with the smoky, spicy flavors of barbecue. Chefs
Ethan McKee and Sean Hardy’s dishes place emphasis on
richness, while Chef Bryan Voltaggio takes its sweetness literally,
using white corn in an ice cream to top strawberry shortcake.
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