Fresh Corn Fritters

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Farm kids have to make their own fun. Admittedly, it can get a little weird. While the indoors offered chances for reading and watching TV, the outdoors presented numerous opportunities for more-uh…adventurous pursuits. I may have, without ever knowing it, pioneered the corn maze. For the uninitiated, a corn maze is a life size human puzzle, made by cutting a convoluted path through a mature cornfield, in which folks can wander and get lost. My version just skipped cutting a path. I’d squeeze my little self through the tall stalks, and wander through the field, pushing the rustling leaves and stalks aside. Eventually the folks would send the dog in to locate and rescue me. I suspect maybe you had to be there to see the charm…

Now the corn field in which I’d take my wander was known as dent corn. Dent corn, aka “field corn” produces a hard corn kernel, high in starch and low in sugar; decidedly not for human consumption unless processed.  It was and is to this day a commodity product, grown to make animal feed, corn syrup and tortilla chips. The corn jewel was grown in my Dad’s patch of Silver Queen sweet corn, high sugar ears picked while immature, milky, sweet and juicy. This corn was plucked, shucked and in the pot within minutes, for the sugar begins to turn to starch as soon as it’s picked. We ate most of this delicious corn right from the cob, dripping with butter. Mom froze the remainder of Dad’s crop each year so we enjoyed the taste of fresh sweet corn year round. 

Every now and again, Mom would make what she called corn fritters. They were really more of a fresh corn pancake, given that she did not deep-fry them in liberal amounts of oil. The batter was a quick mix of eggs, flour, salt and pepper with fresh corn kernels folded in and pan fried just until golden brown on both sides. This is one of those simple recipes for which fresh quality ingredients are paramount to producing the essence of corn in a light cloud of corn cake. They can be jazzed up with chives, jalapeno, red pepper or other vegetables, but to my mind, this just dilutes that pure corn essence. This is one of the few family recipes in which I have changed absolutely nothing. 

It’s getting late in the season, I know. You might have to forage through a few sources to find good ears of sweet corn, if you haven’t grown them in your own garden. Make the effort and save the recipe. You won’t regret it.