Corn Vindication

Reading Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemna, it is hard not to come down on the wrong side of corn. The first third of the book is devoted to the intrinsic ability of corn to be a superplant, both in the way it grows and the many uses that American corporations have derived from it. So, it is not too hard to develop negative feelings towards poor corn, knowing that it is the spawn of such 'evil' (high fructose corn syrup!, mineral-depleted soil!, overusage of pesticides and nitrogen in order to grow it!).

And then, I had an ear of corn from Eatwell Farm. Glorious, fabulous, oh so sweet 'butter-sugar corn' (as we called it in upstate NY - is that true of everywhere?) whose kernels were jumping off the cob, they were so fresh. Oh meeee. Oh myyyy. I started stealing my kids' corn, it was so good. It didn't even need salt or butter, but old habits die hard.

Corn, how I love thee. In your natural/organic form, you are better than ever.

-M