Follow The Silk Test To Buy The Best Corn For Grilling

It's normally thought of as a summer crop, but regardless of the season, there's nothing quite like biting into a sweet, juicy ear of corn. Fresh corn is a very versatile ingredient and is delicious just sprinkled with a bit of salt and butter, or cut off the cob and tossed into something like this romaine and corn salad. One of the best ways to enjoy corn is to cook it over the grill until it gets a nice char. Like any simple dish, grilled corn tastes best when it's made with a fresh, undamaged ear of corn. It can be hard to pick out a good ear, since the corn's husk hides a lot of the vegetable's possible imperfections. But the fine threads sticking out of the corn, also known as corn silk, can give you a clue.

Corn silk is often maligned as an annoying obstacle between you and your dinner, but when you're picking out corn, the silk is your ally. During your next trip to the market, look for corn silk that's light brown or golden in color; black silk means the corn has been sitting out for a while. Fresh silk should be a bit tacky, not dry or squishy. An off odor is also a sign that the attached corn has gone bad.

This hack works because of the silk's role in the corn's development process. Each strand of silk connects to a kernel on the cob as a sort of pathway to pollination. Fresh silk means that the corn kernels are likely to be fully-developed and sweet, while a dry, dark silk indicates that the corn is way past its peak. The silk starts to brown soon after the corn is pollinated, so it's normal for there to be a little coloration at the end of fresh corn silk. Basically, healthy corn silk equals plump, juicy corn kernels. Now, all you need is a roll of tin foil to make some scrumptious grilled corn.

While the silk test is certainly helpful, it's not the only way to determine if your corn is fresh or not. A good ear of corn should have some heft to it, with a moist husk and no blemishes or soft spots. Fresh corn is always nice, but if you have some leftover ears of corn that are a few days past their prime, you don't have to throw them out. You can slice the kernels off the cob to toss into a salad or to turn into corn salsa. Before you start cooking the corn, just be sure to check out this corn shucking hack to cut down on your prep time.