The Best Creamed Corn Ever

The secret to this is all in the main ingredient: fresh corn!  Believe it or not, the creaminess comes from the corn cob itself.  The trick is to extract the "milk" from the cob.  From there, only a few extra ingredients are added to pull it all together.  This is the perfect side for any occasion: a summer potluck, Easter, Thanksgiving...you name it!

When I first tasted this corn I was so certain it involved a lot of heavy cream or butter - it was just SO good!  But then I tried making it on my own and it was NOT the same.  Something was missing.  When I asked my husband's grandma, who made this all the time for family functions what I was doing wrong, she showed me the secret: squeezing every last bit of that corn milk from the cob. What!?  This was a revelation (at least for me) - I had no idea one could get so much liquid from one ear of corn.

 Grandma Viola showed me the technique: slicing just the tops of the kernels and then using the back of a small knife to burst the rest of the kernels rendering the "milk", until there is literally nothing left.

Just so you see what it should look like:

That is just from the corn...nothing added to it!

It is such a simple recipe, but it really tastes like there is more to it than there actually is.  The one downside to making this is that it does a number on your wrist, and can make a bit of a mess with corn juice and bits of corn flying everywhere.  Viola advised me to do this in the sink to avoid getting it all over the backsplash and floors, haha.

I hope you'll give it a try - it's sure to be popular!

BEST CREAMED CORN EVER

Serves 4-6 as a side

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 ears of fresh corn
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 half and half or milk (I used milk)
• 2 tsp cornstarch or 1 TBSP flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 yellow onion (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut corn from the cob - just the top of the kernel scraping well to remove all the milk.
2. Combine the corn, butter and water in a saucepan.  Cover and cook over medium heat about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Viola liked to add half of a yellow onion -NOT chopped - to the corn while it was cooking. This was to add flavor without actually incorporating pieces of onion in order to cater to a picky grandchild!)
3. Remove the onion, if using, and then combine the remaining ingredients (cream/milk, cornstarch/flour, salt and pepper).
4. Beat with a whisk until cornstarch is well blended and then add to the corn, stirring well.
5. Cook for 3 minutes or until corn is thickened and bubbly.

Enjoy!