Sweet corn at the farmers market is synonymous with summer, and you can get some great sweet corn from farms here on the East Coast nowadays. Peak season for sweet corn is expected to be right around July 15th here in the New York region – this is when the corn will taste the best.

Corn products and ears of corn are a staple of our diet, largely because they come with a great deal of flavor and are really easy to prepare – corn can be delicious when it is simply grilled or steamed. Freshness is particularly important with corn since it tends to lose its delicious sweetness about two days after it’s harvested.

This summer we’ll be serving two sweet corn dishes here at Dig Inn. You can currently find organic sweet corn in our Roasted Vegetable Medley, which has been flying off the shelf since we added it to the menu a couple of weeks ago. In the Medley, we’re simply giving the corn kernels a quick roast together with broccoli, cauliflower, red peppers, and zucchini, which results in a flavorful and colorful dish that looks very appetizing on our serving line.

Since local corn is just coming into peak season, we’ve been sourcing the organic sweet corn in the Medley from Cascadian Farm in Washington State. As you probably know, the Certified Organic label means that this corn was not grown from GM (genetically modified) seeds and that no synthetic insecticides, fungicides, or herbicides were applied while it was being grown. Since this farm is located in Washington State, it’s a little too far away for us to visit ourselves, but we did our homework and we trust the Certified Organic label. We do our best to source organic ingredients whenever we can, especially when a local product from a farm that we know and trust is not available.

In a few weeks, we’ll be introducing the simplest of corn dishes – good old corn on the cob. This corn will come from a local farm (located on Long Island), and it will be extremely fresh – it will literally be harvested the day before we serve it! The Long Island farm will be sending us shucked corn (meaning the leaves and silk have been removed), and then we’ll give it a quick roasting with a sprinkle of sea salt, cracked pepper, and a miniscule amount of extra virgin olive oil. And that’s all it takes to serve up an addictive sweet corn dish that’s very fresh – from stalk to our restaurants within a day.

From a nutritional perspective, corn doesn’t quite achieve super food status, but it does come with phytonutrients, antioxidants that play a key role in preventing cardiovascular health problems. It also has a good amount of fiber, which has digestive benefits. About 80% of the calories in corn come from carbohydrates. It is high in natural sugar, which is what makes it super satisfying to our taste buds.

Hope you enjoy these two sweet corn dishes this summer!

Have any questions about these dishes or corn itself? Please let us know in the comments.