Sweeten the grilling season with fresh corn

When the weather's warm, you don't need a special occasion to cook out, picnic or throw a patio party. Any fine day is a good reason to scrub down the grill and heat up your inner outdoor cook.

As you stock up on burgers and buns at the supermarket, gather your own crop of sweet, fresh corn too. Take your pick: Fresh corn is right at hand with husks intact, or in convenient packages with husks and silk either partially or entirely removed. All you have to do is get fresh corn home and into the refrigerator as soon as you can. Just place the ears - with or without husks - loosely wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator.

Fresh sweet corn has been bred using tried-and-true traditional methods to spring up divinely delicious and taste sweeter longer. Refrigerating it makes corn's moisture and sweetness last for days. Whether your kernels are yellow, white or speckled with both, they will burst with sweetness when they reach the table.

Fresh corn is a no-fail crowd-pleaser, especially on the grill. On the cob or off, with or without butter, sweet corn makes it easy for cooks and non-cooks alike to draw endless rounds of "Mmmmmm's." And it beautifully partners with just about any other food you can think of from fish and meats to a roundup of other seasonal vegetables.

While corn is perfect bare-naked, it loves butter too - and even better is herbed butter. Allow butter to soften to room temperature and mix in your favorite flavors. Try butters with garlic powder, dill, parsley, cilantro, or crushed dried oregano. You can experiment with different salts, too, such as Himalayan pink salt, smoked salt, Maldon salt and others. Try a squeeze or two of fresh lime juice, or just go with a sprinkling of salt and cracked black pepper.

Whichever seasoning combination you choose, fresh sweet corn needs a minimum of preparation, and it's equally delicious when prepared in either of these two ways:

* Remove the outer husk and soak in cold water for 15 minutes. Then pull the inner husks down to the bottom but don't tear them off. Rub off the silk. Brush lightly with butter, then pull the husks back up and tie at the top with a string or piece of husk. After five to seven minutes on a preheated grill, turning as the timer ticks, the corn is ready to eat.

* Remove all of the husks and silk, roast the corn on the grill, then brush on the butter after the corn is done. This way, some kernels become even sweeter, their natural sugars caramelizing during direct contact with the heat.

Fresh corn makes it as easy as possible to celebrate the long-awaited arrival of grilling season with out-of-this-world bursts of sweetness. For more corn basics as well as other flavorful, easy-to-prepare corn recipes, visit www.sweetfreshcorn.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent