Hulled Corn
Ingredients
Directions
Loosen the hulls
In an iron kettle, combine shelled corn and enough water to cover it.
Place hardwood ashes in a bag and boil with the corn until the hulls begin to separate.
Strain off the lye and remove the ash bag.
Cook and season
Boil the corn in clear water until fully cooked.
Strain again and season with coarse sea salt to taste.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Shelled corn
- Forms the main body of the dish, its starch turning tender as it cooks.
- Hardwood ashes
- Their alkaline lye loosens the hulls so they separate from the kernels.
The step that matters
Boil until the hulls begin to separate. The alkaline lye softens the bonds holding each hull to the kernel. Stopping too early leaves hulls stuck, while boiling too long can break down the kernels.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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