Blog
Technicolor Corn
by Lui Sykes
At the end of last summer I marveled at the just-harvested, highly unusual corn varieties offered on the cob at the Windfall Farms stall. I had always assumed such ridiculously colorful corn was purely ornamental, but I learned from the farmers that it's actually entirely edible (and unsprayed to boot). I had long ago decided to limit Just Picked photographs to produce that was both fresh and sold as edible, and this information now gave me an excuse to take these beauties to the studio. I immediately bought their entire selection.
The corn had already been drying in the field when I photographed it, but I continued the drying process at home until a few weeks ago, when I popped all the kernels off the cobs. Four of the five kinds I bought were cornmeal varieties for milling into grits, polenta or masa. This can be done at home with a dry grains container on a blender or even with a coffee or spice grinder. I did neither, because I remembered a chef friend tweeting excitedly about the grain mill his restaurant purchased and he generously let me mooch off his infrastructure. I found myself with 4 bags of polenta labeled with names like "Oaxacan Green" or "Strubbes Orange", each with a unique (if now muted) color, but all with a beautiful coarse grind, perfect for polenta.
I’ve always had a thing for polenta, and this corn called for a worthy polenta dish. Aiming for a pure maize flavor that would be free of cheesy distractions, I made a simple polenta from the bag labeled “Earth Tones Dent Corn”, using nothing but corn meal, water, olive oil and sea salt. The result was a pale orange polenta with a more delicate corn flavor than I'm used to and a delicious, rustic texture. I served it in a bowl with some braised veal, my favorite polenta pairing. For a few moments, life was perfect. I can confidently claim that this corn was not grown in vain.
The last of the five kinds kinds was a popcorn variety. It made for excellent popcorn, tasting both fresh and clean. Not a single kernel in my pot failed to pop. Warm salty popcorn makes a great side for an ice-cold ceviche, and that was this corn's destiny. (Recipe below).
