This is how to get rid of all those annoying silk strands on your corn

November 16, 2017 10:13 PM

The bright summer and fall vegetable is naturally sweet, not to mention packed with fiber and vitamins like magnesium and folate.

Whether youre making a filling for tacos, chili for the game, or a side for barbecue, odds are that youll turn to corn for help.

The bright summer and fall vegetable is naturally sweet, not to mention packed with fiber and vitamins like magnesium and folate. And while you can use it in a variety of ways, there's something to be said for the sheer beauty that is a plain corn cob with a little salt and butter.

Corn does have one major downside: It's such a pain to shuck and prepare. Thankfully, Whole Foods produce butcher Emily Hankey has a few tips, which she demonstrates in the video above.

First off, when shucking, don't just pull off one leaf at a time—you'll be peeling all day. Hankey recommends gripping your corn firmly by the silks at one end and by the stem at the other, then pulling the stem hand down hard to pull away all of the layers at once. Repeat a few times around the corn until everything is off. If you're dealing with stray silky corn silks clinging to your corn, don't fret. You can spin or wring the corn between your hands to pull off the remaining strands. Then cut or break off the remaining stem nub to make a flat base.

If you're going to use the corn whole, then you're done—pop it in a pot of boiling water or grill it. But if you need the individual corn kernels (say for a salsa or topping), prop up your corn on the flat base and grip it firmly. Carefully slice a large knife (Hankey uses an eight-inch chef's knife) down the length of the corn to cut off the kernels. You want to slice deep enough to get all the kernels, but not so deep that you're chopping off hunks of cob with it. Hankey says that you’ll want them to come off individually or in little clumps—if they don’t, you’re probably cutting off too much cob.

Repeat all the way around the corn until there are no kernels left. Always cut with the corn standing vertically, Hankey says, rather than laying it flat and cutting it horizontally—you're more likely to hurt yourself that way. Once everything is off, rinse your kernels in a sink to get rid of any last silk stragglers. Then you're good to go!

To see exactly how Hankey does it, watch the video above.

Enhance Your Pulse News Experience!

Get rewards worth up to $20 when selected to participate in our exclusive focus group. Your input will help us to make informed decisions that align with your needs and preferences.

I've got feedback!