|
Sun, Jan 19, 14 at 17:50
| My wife has mandated that if we grow corn for roasting ears it should not be the "super sweet" ultra-tender varieties that are so popular with everyone these days. We want corn that tastes like corn first, and like sugar water a very distant second. If it's a bit chewy, even better. It needs to be sweet enough that it won't taste like glue, but not so sweet that it tastes like Karo. You get the idea. I see a lot of interesting varieties in the heirloom seed catalogs, but sometimes I am concerned that they are really meant as ornamentals or flour corn, and would not really taste good as early corn. Bonus points if it is a short season variety (maybe "80 days" or so, whatever that means, high yield, and looks interesting (esp. if it is bi-colored, blue, red or calico). Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| one of the more common heirloom sweet corns is golden bantam. There is a couple different varieties of it I think, but I'm pretty sure they are all OP. Its not decorative, just yellow, but it's a 70-80 day corn. There's a lot of sources for it, I think pretty much anyone who sells heirloom seeds sells a golden bantam corn. SSE has Blue Jade, which is a blue sweet corn, so more decorative then the bantam. It's also 70-80 days. Both of them are short varieties, I think the first usually grows 5-6' and the second ~3'. That's all I can think of off the top of my head though I'm sure there is more. |
|
| Most of the southern dent heirlooms make good roasting at the young stage. |
|
- Posted by cousinfloyd NC 7 (My Page) on Mon, Jan 20, 14 at 8:24
| I've tried a few heirloom sweet corns. The only variety I can remember by name that I rejected (for flavor) was Country Gentleman. (It seemed pretty much like the pure "glue" taste to me at the time.) The two I might grow again are Golden Bantam and Ashworth. Ashworth made a wimpy plant, but it might have had slightly sweeter corn than Golden Bantam and it was extra early. I've gotten to where I prefer hominy from the local heirloom dent corn I grow, and I don't care as much for sweet corn any more, but after all these years I really ought to try some of the field corn I grow in the milk stage. |
|
- Posted by farmerdill (My Page) on Mon, Jan 20, 14 at 9:05
| If you really want an old time sweet corn, that is just a step or two above field corn. Stowell's Evergreen, Country Gentleman, Howling Mob, Black Mexican, Truckers Favorite. Golden Bantam is a newer OP that approaches the flavor of an Su hybrid. First really successful "sweet" corn. |
|
| Another vote for Trucker's Favorite. Famous in the south for the best roasting ears. But I think she'd be happier with Golden Bantam. What we recall as a "good old taste" often isn't nearly as good as we remember. :) Dave |
|
- Posted by naturegirl_2007 5B SW Michigan (My Page) on Tue, Jan 21, 14 at 0:51
| You mention interesting looks as a plus. Remember that you will be picking the ears to eat in the milk stage. The vibrant colors of the decorative varieties will only be partly developed when picked young. But if there is more than you want to eat fresh, the remaining ears will grow into dried corn that will be even more beautiful. |
|
| More OP varieties: Hookers Triple Play Painted Hill True Platinum Martian Jewels |
|
| I have not found an early corn that tastes really good, but for midseason we keep coming back to Luscious bicolor. It has nice tight ear tips and does not get many corn earworms. It is an "se" (sugar-extended) hybrid that holds its eating quality for a week or more, but is not yucky sweet like the super-sweets. In the South, Silver Queen would be the standard to beat. |
|
- Posted by plantslayer 8 (My Page) on Thu, Jan 23, 14 at 18:05
| Thanks for all of the thoughtful posts. I am sure Blue Jade is a good one for me; it even looks blue at the milk stage apparently, and gets darken when its cooked. I will probably get that for an OP heirloom selection, and choose another from the local seed rack based on maturity time. I was wondering, if I want the corn to have a chewier texture and be a little less sweet, could I just choose an SE type and leave it on the stalk a little bit longer than normal? Or do they suddenly loose all of their sweetness overnight? |
|
| It is not a sudden transition from sugar to starch as you would see in older varieties. Silver Queen (normal sugary) would go past the milk stage faster than a good SE variety. I admit I don't really need the SE characteristic because we watch the ears like coons, can't wait to eat them. However, the sugar level of Luscious comes out at a balanced level after the corn has been blanched and frozen. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Vegetable Gardening Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Please review our Rules of Play before posting.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
