Boiling corn? A salt question...

[Bada Bing]

A chef that I know once told me how he cooks lots of corn for crowds: throw the shucked corn in a huge pot of cold water, bring water to a boil, and then turn off the heat, letting the corn sit covered in the water until you want it. I've found that the method works well, and the corn can be eaten anywhere from ten minutes to one hour later. (More water mass helps in either case.)

About salt, I once or twice tried salting the water, and got the sense that the corn shriveled a bit those times. But then again, the whole theory of brining is that salted water would tend only to introduce salt into the brined item, which then remains trapped with moisture in the food itself, adding seasoning. Over time, I've come simply never to salt the water. And that's a big step for me--I salt pretty much everything.

Maybe I'll just set up an experiment with different levels of salt and see what happens. But does anyone know offhand what gives?

[RGC1982]

We used to live near a few farms, and had the pleasure of asking the experts on how to cook corn - at least how to boil it.

They recommended the chef's method you described, and NEVER put salt in the water. They felt that it undermined the sugary sweetness and toughened the corn.

You can always salt before eating.

[jvanderh]

I salt the water, and the corn is tender and sweet. I don't like grains of salt sitting on top of my food, and I don't butter my corn.

[Bada Bing]

I am grateful for all the replies--even, although a bit less enthusiastically, for those replies that insist that my question was a wrong question!

I might experiment a bit here. But it sounds like most everyone shares my perception: salt is not warranted, and maybe counterproductive, when boiling corn.

[heidij74]

I know it's not what you are asking, but I think the real question is why you would want to boil corn and end up with water-logged kernels? Saute the kernels in a little olive oil or butter -- much more flavorful. Include some corn milk with the kernels and it will be all the better.

[Sooeygun]

But the water doesn't absorb into the kernels when it is on the cob. As CDouglas posted above, the outer layer is impermeable. Sauteing is fine off the cob, but that's not the form of corn the OP is asking about.

Regarding the OP's question, I don't add salt (or sugar) to the water as it doesn't make any difference to the flavour. I cook it as briefly as possible (I bring the water to the boil before adding the corn, unlike the OP). And lots of salt and butter before eating.

[Bada Bing]

Thanks for these replies. I should clarify that I'm not asking how to cook corn but rather how to understand why brining doesn't (so far) seem to be effective with it.

We might think that only meats respond to brining, but Cooks Illustrated also suggested a while back that brining dried beans works. Maybe sweet corn lacks a molecular/cellular structure to take advantage of brining?

[CDouglas]

The outermost layer of the corn kernel, the pericarp, is impermeable. Corn kernels cannot absorb outside moisture. This is the reason that steam can successfully build up inside of heated, dried kernels and cause them to eventually explode into popcorn.

[Bada Bing]

An enlightening response! Many thanks!

It appears that briners need to keep an eye on permeable versus impermeable barriers. I looked into the "pericarp" term, and it appears that it applies to various fruits, such as peach skins. On the face of it, it seems that peaches would have a more permeable barrier than corn kernels, which in fact do seem to have an exterior little short of Saran wrap as regards permeability. So the issue for brining is perhaps the specific permeability of the membranes, etc.?

[greygarious]

Brining meat and green beans is done in cold water. Perhaps the fact that your corn was sitting in hot salted water explains the shriveling you observed. The salt in brine and rubs first draws water out of the food, then the food reabsorbs the now-salted water. Apparently the corn is missing the second step. Whether that's to do with heat, pericarp, or something else, I couldn't say.

[CDouglas]

Brining has to do with diffusion, osmosis and the denaturing of proteins. If diffusion can't occur because of an impermeable barrier then the other two brining processes won't happen.

Perhaps cutting the kernels off of the cob before brining might allow for diffusion/osmosis to take place at the point where the pericarp was cut. I imagine the brining time would have to be very short. Possibly just dropping the cut kernels into salted and seasoned boiling water until cooked through would do the trick.

[Bada Bing]

Interesting! On your comment about protein, I snooped the internet and found a weightloss website listing nutritional information for various vegetables (they don't cite information source, so this is uncredited information):

http://www.weightlossforall.com/prote...

Corn is among the higher protein vegetables at 2.5 grams protein per 100 grams of corn, but corn still has less than a third the protein of beans (9 grams), and then of course meats would be much higher in protein.

So it would seem that even cut corn won't have as much to work with to benefit from brining. Likewise the other higher-protein vegetables: brined cauliflower, anyone?

[bkhuna]

Same reason corn isn't fully digested by humans, if you know what I mean.

[smtucker]

Good, fresh corn [especially in New England] doesn't need much more than about 2 minutes of steaming. When the kernels are small, then I limit the steam time to one minute. However, when I have lived elsewhere in the country, the corn available was very different; more mealy, less sweet, and then I did find that adding a touch of sugar to the water and steaming for a bit longer was necessary.

[visciole]

I have found that steaming it is quicker and yields a tastier, crisper end product.

[boyzoma]

I don't salt water for corn, however I do sometimes put sugar in it when I boil the corn. Depends on time of year and how sweet the corn is.

[vafarmwife]

Salting the water you boil roasting ears in makes it tough. Salt to taste when you butter it and get ready to eat it.