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SO WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT TABER CORN?

Well, the growers around Taber claim it’s the sweetest corn, and the most famous corn grown in Western Canada, because of the unique soil, weather and irrigation around Taber. Corn grows best in well-drained soil and that’s what they have around Taber, Brooks and Lethbridge – sandy loam that drains well and heats up fast. Irrigation may be another key factor – the area around Taber is criss-crossed with irrigation canals that bring water from the rivers to the farms. The other thing that produces good corn here is the sun and heat – apparently Taber receives more sunshine than any other region in Canada, so with the warm sandy loam soil, the hot summer days, cool nights and tons of water, it’s a good recipe for growing good sweet corn.

But more sweet corn is actually grown in other parts Canada – mainly in Ontario and Quebec – Alberta has about 10 per cent of the national sweet corn growing acreage, while Ontario grows about 50 per cent.

ARE WE ALREADY SEEING TABER CORN IN THE MARKETS?

Well, we are seeing corn that’s advertised as Taber corn – but this corn has such an incredible reputation in Alberta that there are often unscrupulous sellers who will claim they’re selling Taber corn, when it’s really imported corn from B.C. or Washington.

In fact, counterfeit Taber corn became such an issue, that The Taber Corn Growers Association was issuing letters of authenticity for roadside sellers to display. Of course, these can be counterfeit, too. So the best way is to buy directly from a grower at the farm markets.

I bought “Taber” corn last week at the Calgary Farmer’s Market but the quality wasn’t that great. The cobs were of varying quality and some was very under mature and some cobs had a lot of spaces.

So you still have to be careful which cobs you choose.

DOES TABER CORN REALLY TASTE BETTER?

Well, the thing about Taber corn is that it’s local – and the freshest corn is always the most delicious, sweet juicy corn. If you can get corn that’s just been picked that day, you’ll never taste any better corn.

We did a taste test with Taber Corn from the Jensen Farms being sold at the Hillhurst Sunnyside farmer’s market, some corn labeled Taber Corn from a Calgary Co-op store and corn from Safeway, simply labeled US/Canada grown corn.

In fact, both of the Taber corn sample outshone the Safeway corn but it was a sweet bicolour variety, while the other was a yellow corn. The latter looked fresh – the husks were green and crisp – but the corn itself had a slightly mealier, chewier texture, certainly not as sweet as the bicolour corn from Taber, but not bad.

And I must admit, the Taber corn from the Co-op was just as fresh and delicious as the Taber corn from the farmer’s market, and was about half the price.

I think the big difference is the fact that the corn is grown locally, picked at night and shipped into the city for sale the next day. Kudos to Co-op for buying local produce – there is a difference.

DOES THE VARIETY REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHEN IT COMES TO FLAVOUR?

Yes it can. Field corn is grown for animal feed while what’s known as sweet corn is grown for human consumption.

In Taber they grow different varieties of sweet or super sweet corn. These are varieties like Peaches & Cream or Krispy King, Northern Supersweet or Pearl – yellow or white corn, some with a bi-colour mixture of yellow and white kernels on the same cob.

The super sweet corn with higher sugar content has actually been bred for shipping – it stays sweet longer, even if it’s not freshly picked. So a super sweet variety has a longer shelf life.

But super sweet corn is not necessarily tastier. Older varieties of sweet corn, if super fresh, can be equally juicy and delicious. Some people actually prefer corn that’s a little more toothsome and not so sweet.

Because the thing that affects the flavour of corn the most is the length of time between the plant and the cooking pot.

They always say the best corn is the corn that you pluck off your own stalks in the garden and ferry directly to the stove. Because corn has this natural ability to turn sugars to starches – and that process begins the moment it’s picked. In fact, among the older varieties of corn, with the SU gene, they say, at 30C, half of the sugars will turn to starches within the first 24 hours.

That’s why just-picked corn tastes super sweet and juicy, while older cobs can have an almost dry, mealy and starchy flavor.

The newer sugar-enhanced or SE gene hybrids have a shelf life of two weeks, instead of two days, but freshness is still critical for the best flavor.

That’s why corn isn’t generally exported any great distance, and you have to eat it now, when it’s in season here in Alberta.

HOW CAN YOU CHOOSE THE BEST COBS FROM THE BIN?

The first thing to look for is corn that looks fresh. After picking, corn should be refrigerated immediately to preserve its quality, so if the cobs are cool, coming out of a refrigerated truck, it’s a good sign. In Taber, they actually pick the corn at night to make sure it’s cool.

Ask when it was picked. You can tell a lot by just looking at the outside of the cob – if the cobs are green, and the husks look fresh, not dry and wilted, it’s a pretty good indication that the corn was just picked.

Look at the corn silk, too. The silk will start to get old and slimy if the corn is old. Supermarkets like to disguise this fact by trimming cobs or completely husking and repackaging the corn.

Now a lot of people like to peel back the husk and look inside – which is not something people who are selling corn are crazy about. If you’re going to snoop through the corn, you’d better buy some.

I think it’s okay to just pull back the top a tiny bit to peek. You can see if the corn is filled out to the end of the cob or if it’s not yet mature. But try not to destroy the husk of every piece of corn you inspect.

Still you want the corn to be mature – you want the cobs filled with kernels – but not overly mature. If the kernels are too young and small, the corn will be sweet, but not as flavourful as a more mature cob.

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO COOK FRESH CORN?

Everyone seems to have their own secret method when it comes to cooking corn, but boiling the shucked cobs in a big pot of boiling salted water for about 5 minutes and dragging the cob through a slab of cold butter works for me.

Some people even add a little sugar to the water, but with the sweet corn that’s out there these days, it’s really not necessary.

Some people like to grill their corn, which gives it a nice smoky flavor. Grilling is really just steaming the corn, inside the husk. You need to peel back the husk, leaving it intact at the base of the cob, and then take out all of the corn silk. Then you rinse the corn and pull the leaves back up around the cob. You can tie it up with a few pieces of string, or a strip of the husk, and then you need to soak the cobs in a sink full of cold water for about 10 minutes. Put the corn on the hot barbecue grill, or right on the hot coals, and steam the corn for 15-20 minutes – the husks will get a little charred on the outside and the water that’s trapped within the husk will steam the corn as it cooks. This is a great way to cook corn when you’re camping.

If you want to freeze corn to use later, you should blanch it (that is submerge the husked cobs in boiling water for a minute, then chill the cobs in ice water, drain well and seal in freezer bags, and freeze.) This one-minute blanching effectively stops the sugar to starch conversion process – so you can blanch corn and then refrigerate it for up to three days if you can’t eat it all right away.

Sweet corn is delicious raw in salads and salsas, too. Just stand the cobs upright and use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the cobs from top to bottom. Sprinkle the raw kernels over green salads or mix them into rice or grain salads for colour and crunch. Or mix corn kernels with chopped tomatoes, cilantro, onions, chili peppers and even black beans or black-eyed peas, for a chunky fresh salsa to scoop up with chips.

This is the way to prepare fresh corn for corn chowder, too. And here’s a tip. Don’t toss the cobs, cover them with water and simmer to make a nice flavourful corn base for your soup (then fish the cobs out and toss them).

You can even make your own creamed corn from scratch – just combine the corn kernels, and the corn juice, with some sautéed onion and whipping cream and sweeten it with a touch of maple syrup, then boil it until thick. Very decadent but very delicious.

CAN YOU BUY YOUR CORN DIRECTLY FROM THE FARM?

Of course. Take a family road trip down to Lethbridge or Medicine Hat, almost anywhere in southeastern Alberta, and you’ll find all kinds of corn growing along the way.

Head out to any farmer’s market to buy fresh corn, or plan to attend the annual Taber Corn Festival – a weekend corn extravaganza in the Town of Taber August 24 and 25.

It’s about a three-hour drive from Calgary to Taber but this event is truly a feast for corn lovers, with all of the events you’d expect at a country fair, plus lots of opportunities to taste and to buy freshly-picked Taber corn.

The other fun thing to do during corn season is to visit a corn maze – these are complex labyrinths created by planting corn in various patterns. When it gets tall – up to 8 or 9 feet at this time of year – you can literally get lost in a field of corn. Several farms across the province grow corn mazes – the original one is near Lacombe, but there’s one west of Edmonton, one north of Lethbridge, another south of Leduc and at new one, just west of Bowden at Eagle Creek Farms, which is cut out of 7 acres of corn and 1 acre of sunflowers.

Even after the corn is harvested, the corn maze stands so it’s a fun farm activity for the family throughout the late summer and into the fall.

IS SWEET CORN JUST EMPTY CALORIES AND CARBS?

Not at all. There are 175 calories in 2 cups of corn, including nearly 5 grams of dietary fibre, only 2 g of fat and lots of other good things like vitamin C, folate and Vitamin A.

If you juice corn you get a sweet starchy milk that is a natural thickener, like cream without the calories, so you can use it in soups or even in rice pudding. Or try combining pureed fresh corn with mashed potatoes. Or just eat it straight from the cob – the perfect August pastime.

click here for Cinda’s recipes for Corn Chowder and Southwestern Chicken and Corn Salad...

©Cinda Chavich 2007

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