Sunday, June 12, 2011

Butter People

Fresh local corn on the cob is a seasonal favorite in our house.

The earliest local corn is usually ready for the July 4th festivities, but with this year's cold wet spring who knows. Wegman's (the greatest grocery store on earth) has excellent produce, and even some fairly decent corn that gets shipped in from points south before our local corn is ready, although it is a crap shoot. I am very picky ... looking for small sweet kernels that pop in your mouth and have a high sugar level ... and seldom am I satisfied with non-local corn even from Wegman's. My husband is an optimist, however, and will often take a gamble and bring home some ears of "fresh" corn. Tonight was one of those nights, and his gamble paid off. Four of the six ears were almost as good as local - darn close - even if the other two ears had deformed kernels and we had to thow them out. I mean it when I write that Jim takes a gamble: he doesn't even peek to check before loading it in his basket. In any case, we enjoyed tonight's corn from Florida (?). It makes me even more excited for local produce, coming soon!

Buttering one's corn is an important part of the process, and we have found the perfect vehicle for the butter: Butter Boy. I found it last year at Wegman's, but a quick Google search tells me there are many places to purchase these nifty little fellows, including Amazon, and Bed Bath & Beyond. The description reads:

Butter Boy makes buttering corn-on-the-cob easy and fun. Just insert 1/2 stick of butter, pop the top, and start buttering. Take him to picnics, barbeques, or just have fun with him when eating at home.

Apparently it comes in additional colors, and for those who are concerned about gender you can also purchase a Butter Girl.  How progressive, even if the alliteration isn't quite there.

Note: If you are having a party that includes large amounts of people buttering large amounts of corn on the cob, and said party is taking place outside, then there is an amazing way to offer butter for your guests: the pitcher method. Simply fill any tall thin container (a pitcher or we use a tall plastic pasta storage container) about 3/4 full with hot tap water, and pour a couple of melted sticks of butter into it. The melted butter rises to the top, and people simple have to dip in and pull out their ear of corn. The butter clings to the corn ... the guests are thrilled ... everyone is happy!


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