Uncovering the secrets to perfect corn

A while back, I interviewed chef Sanford D'Amato and he spoke about "seasonal eating."

D'Amato, proprietor of the acclaimed Sanford restaurant, had just returned from a trip to Italy and had been inundated with porcini.

"Every place you go to has porcini pasta, roasted porcini, porcini popsicles, scallops with porcini," he said. "It's really the right way to eat. The season is so short. You eat so much of it that you're ready for porcinis to be gone. And when they come back again, you're ready to eat them.

"That's the way I look at it here. In the summer, I eat all the tomatoes and corn I can stuff down. That's what you should be eating. Then, when it's gone, you don't miss it as much. You don't say ‘Oh, I only had tomatoes once this year. Now I can't get good ones until next year.'"

I thought of this conversation the other day while cooking some sweet corn. Nothing against hot dogs, hamburgers, custard, watermelon or tomatoes, but corn on the cob is -- to me -- an iconic summer food. It's the perfect side dish that occasionally works its way up to main-course status.

While nearly everyone agrees that corn is awesome, there is some controversy over how to prepare it. I've come to rely on three methods, which I'll list in order of personal preference. First, however, a few general tips are in order.

SELECTION

Freshness is everything when it comes to corn, so if you can purchase it from a farmer's market or roadside stand instead of a grocery store, do so. The husks should be bright green, somewhat moist and should fit snugly around the ear of corn. If you peel back the husk, the kernels should be in tight rows and seem plump and milky.

PREPARATION

Whenever possible, you should cook and eat the corn on the day of purchase. Peel the husk off just before cooking. Hold the peeled ear in one hand, with the husk and stalk in the other. Snap off the stalk and remove the "silk" the hairy threads under the husk. The best way to do this is to use a wet paper towel and wipe the corn thoroughly from tip to stalk. If you want to grill the corn, it's best to leave the husk attached, but we'll get to that in a moment.

Here are my favorite methods for cooking corn:

THE BOILING POINT

In my experience, the best way to make consistently great corn is by boiling. Fill a large stock pot with enough cool water to cover all the ears you have. You can add a little salt (though some say that leads to tougher corn), or a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of lemon juice.

The key to this is timing. I like to get the water to a rolling boil, place the ears into the water, wait until I see the first bubbles of the next boiling phase and then wait 2 minutes.

I'm pretty much a fanatic about this. A lot of people say that you should heat it between 6 and 8 minutes, but I think they're wrong. The 2-minute method yields a fresher, sweeter taste. I once had a science teacher tell me something about the simple sugars and enzymes in the corn that react to heat and turn starchy after long exposures.

I just know that 2 minutes is all it takes.

ON THE GRILL

Everyone seems to have their own method for cooking corn on the grill. This is the one that has worked for me.

Peel back the husks, remove the silk and restore the husk. Dunk the ears into a container of cold water for between 15 minutes to an hour. (As long as you're past the 10-minute mark, I think you'll be fine).

Lightly oil the grate and preheat the grill. Once the corn is soaked, you can peel back the husks, coat with a little butter, salt and pepper, and restore the husks. Place on the grill and roll them occasionally for about 12 to 15 minutes. (The husk may char a bit, but shouldn't burn because of the soaking process).

When the outside looks crisp, you should be ready. If you want to check, peel back a husk (using tongs) and check for desired doneness.

If this method is too daunting, you can wrap each ear in aluminum foil and grill for about 30 minutes.

MICROWAVE METHOD

You actually can make a decent ear of corn in the microwave, but I only due it this way when I'm pressed for time or it seems too hot to boil a pot of water.

This is best if you are only cooking two or three ears in a batch. You place the corn in a microwave-safe dish add a couple tablespoons of water and cover the dish with plastic wrap, leaving a small corner section uncovered in order to allow venting.

Cook the corn on high for about 5 minutes (you can go a minute more or less depending on the strength of your microwave). Use tongs to remove the plastic wrap so that the steam escapes.

ADDING SOME FLAIR

I happen to love those kitschy little corn holders that you can buy at most grocery stores, so that's a great way to serve corn. When it comes to buttering, you can melt a bunch of butter, dedicate a stick of butter to the cause or butter a piece of bread and use that to wipe the butter onto the ear. (Of course, you can simply use a dinner knife, too.)

Serve the corn with salt, chili pepper or paprika.

If you want to get really fancy, try the recipe for Mexican elote -- mix some melted butter and mayonnaise. Roll the ear in that mixture, sprinkle with cotija cheese and some chili powder and serve with a lime wedge.

Serve with your favorite beverage and enjoy. Repeat as often as possible, because corn season will end in September.