The farmers’ market is chock full of wonderful, fresh ,local vegetables. Green peppers and corn are at their peak. So, when I came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Baked Corn in Green Peppers, I decided to give it a try.
I’ve made stuffed peppers numerous times over the years; but, until I saw this recipe, I never thought about stuffing the peppers with a creamy baked corn mixture. This recipe is a tasty stuffed pepper variation. The corn and green peppers work well together.
Here’s the original recipe:
This is a nice recipe, but it needed some tweaking. I think that green peppers were generally much smaller a hundred years ago than they are today. When I made this recipe, I used some medium-sized green peppers which I found at the farmers’ market. They were much smaller than most green peppers sold in supermarkets. Even though the peppers that I used were smaller than most, the recipe only made enough of the corn mixture to fill three green peppers, not six. When I updated the recipe, I indicated that three green peppers should be used rather than six.
I think that this recipe may be missing an ingredient. Whenever I have made Baked Corn in the past, the recipe called for eggs. I don’t think that Baked Corn will properly set without eggs, so I added an egg when I made the recipe. Even with the added egg, it took more than an hour for the baked corn in the green peppers to set, so when I updated the recipe, I indicated that two eggs should be used.
I wasn’t sure how to baste the corn and pepper with water and butter while they baked. Until the baked corn was set and became firm, the top of the Baked Corn in Green Peppers was very wet and did not need any additional liquid. I ended up pouring hot water and melted butter around the green peppers in the baking dish, though I’m not sure that is what the recipe author intended (and I don’t think it was needed, so I didn’t include basting when I updated the recipe).
When I have previously made stuffed peppers, I cut the tops off them and removed the seeds and membranes prior to cooking. I then put them in boiling water, and simmered for 5 minutes or so. I’m not sure why this recipe calls for pouring boiling water over the green peppers before the top, membranes, and skin are removed. That said, it worked fine to scald the green peppers by putting boiling water on the entire peppers. After the stuffed peppers were baked, the peppers were more wrinkled that some other stuffed peppers I have made in the past, but they still had a nice texture. Perhaps this was due to the scalding process, but I’m not sure.
I’m not sure why the recipe author said to “rub off the skin” of the peppers. It sounds like a lot of work, and that it would be easy to tear the green peppers in the process. It is very important to very carefully remove the green peppers’ membranes and seeds, since the corn mixture is very juicy before it is baked, and it would be problematic if the liquid leaked from a tear in a pepper.
I used milk rather than light cream when I made this recipe.
The corn from two fairly large ears made approximately 2 cups of corn.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Baked Corn in Green Peppers
3 medium green peppers
water
2 cups fresh corn (the corn and pulp cut from 2 previously cooked large ears of corn) or use 1 16-ounce can of creamed corn
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk or light cream
2 eggs
Step 1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
Step 2. Put enough water in a saucepan to fill it about 2/3’s full. Heat water to a boil, then remove from heat and add the green peppers; cover pan, and let sit for 5 minutes.
Step 3. Remove peppers from the hot water, and dunk in cold water to cool enough to handle. Cut the tops off the scalded peppers, then carefully remove the seeds and membranes. Use care not to tear the skin of the peppers.
Step 4. In the meantime, melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour and salt. Gradually stir in milk or light cream. Heat to boiling, while stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Step 5. Put eggs in a small bowl; stir until smooth. Place a small amount (approximately 1 – 2 tablespoons) of hot milk/cream mixture into dish with egg; stir quickly. (The egg is first combined with a little of the hot mixture to prevent it from turning into scrambled eggs when introduced into the hot combination.) Add egg mixture to the remaining hot mixture in the saucepan; stir. Add the corn and stir.
Step 6. Set the prepared green peppers in a baking dish, and spoon the corn mixture into the green pepper cavities to fill them
Step 7. Bake in oven uncovered until the corn mixture is firm and set (approximately 30 – 40 minutes.)
I remember my mom cooking corn (or frying it) and seasoning it with small chunks of cut up green peppers. We always had a lot of sugar corn and she looked for different ways to prepare it.
The way your mother made corn and green peppers sounds lovely and very simple; much easier than this recipe. It’s interesting how different areas refer to this corn in different ways. I’ve always called it sweet corn, you call it sugar corn, and in some hundred-year-old cookbooks I’ve seen it referred to as green corn.
I wonder if possibly “green corn” might be referring to young field corn…the type that makes animal feed and corn meal. Sometimes mom would cook up some of it while it was still green. It was not very good because it has a really low sugar content, but it was welcome so early in the year before the sugar corn was ready.
You may be right that green corn is really young field corn. I never would have thought about eating it, but it makes sense.
It’s not really very good, but early in the year when your anxious to taste something fresh It’s not too bad.
Even though it isn’t very good, you’ve piqued my interest. Next summer, I may have to try it early in the season. And, I’m guessing that I will be able to find a green corn recipe in a 1927 cookbook. 🙂
No doubt they will have something there.
Have you ever eaten (or heard of) parched corn? It’s mature field corn shelled and “popped” in a pan on the stove like you would popcorn. Each kernel “pops” but doesn’t fluff up as much as popcorn. It just gets a crunchy, lighter texture that you can actually chew.
I’m really interested in your blog. I can’t go back quite a hundred years, but I can come close. I love reminiscing about the old days and how things were done.
It’s wonderful to hear that you enjoy this blog. I have a lot of fun doing it. I have enjoyed getting to know you via our blogs. Your thoughtful comments have really added to this blog.
The recipe looks really good. I think I would use the canned corn…the lazy way. 🙂
Canned corn works for me. The easier route is a good way to go.
What a neat idea. I happen to have an abundance of both!
I think that you’d enjoy this recipe. Corn and green peppers work well together.
Good healthy idea for me to try once this hip is healed!
The Baked Corn in Green Peppers is a nice, healthy vegetable dish. I hope that all goes well, and that your hip is feeling much better soon.
Good cooking instincts Sheryl!
I’ve been cooking for enough years to have a sense of when something doesn’t seem quite right with a recipe. 🙂
I would like to taste this, but no one else I’m likely to cook for would agree.
I know the feeling. There are some recipes that I really like, but I know that my husband won’t eat, so I seldom make them.
I had to laugh. I like corn and green pepper, but no one else I live with does. I have had stuffed peppers. but never stuffed with corn. This would be different for me as well.
There’s so much fresh produce right now including corn and peppers and I think this would be an excellent recipe to try. Thanks for doing all the testing and updating of this recipe, Sheryl. Cheers.
You’re welcome. I think that you’d enjoy the recipe.
oh the original recipe sounds a wee bit difficult :=)
sherry
For some reason, the original recipe was somewhat confusing. That said, I had fun making the recipe and trying to figure it out.
Pouring boiling water over the whole peppers was meant to scald them to make it easier to remove the skin. I was surprised the recipe did not call for puttig peppers in cold water/ice water after scaling them. Nowadays, to remove the pepper skin, it is common to roast the pepper and put it in a plastic bag to cool. That makes it easy to slip off the pepper skin, plus you get a smokey flavor.
Removing the skin changes the texture of the pepper. It mkes the pepper tenderer when cooked. Pepper skin can be a little tough depending on what you are using the pepper for.
Often, bell pepper skin can be slightly bitter, which is another reason people remove the skin.
Some chefs just use a vegetable peeler to peel the bell pepper skin off.
I have no idea why they would baste the peppers🤷♀️
Thanks for the information. I am clearly up not up to date on current ways of preparing green peppers, and hadn’t realized that it is common to peel them. I will have to give it a try.
In Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona all sorts of peppers are sold roasted. They have special roasters. The smell of peppers being roasted is wonderful! Here are pictures of a home roasters, they’ll give you the idea.
https://azsonoranchileroasters.com/
Wow, I had no clue that there were home pepper/chili roasters like this. That said, I am planning to grill some meat for dinner tonight and I have some beautiful yellow peppers. As a result of our discussion, I have decided that I’m also going to grill some of those peppers. I hadn’t thought about doing that until a few minutes ago.
In Colorado, we would put roasted Hatch peppers on burgers. In several restaurants, you could order a burger with roasted Hatch chilies.
You can make a lovely salad with grilled peppers.
I am clearly not up to speed on pepper and chili varieties. 🙂
🔥🌶️😅
Roasted to perfection – sweet meets heat!
What a fun description!
Enjoyed reading the progress of figuring out the recipe. I use very little green peppers, hubby isn’t fond of them . I do use chili peppers though, roast them , then use the roasted peppers in tamales is really good.
mmm. . . roasted chili peppers in tamales sounds good.
Right now I have baby bells coming off the vine… wouldn’t that be fun for appetizers or a snack tray?
I love it. Tiny stuffed pepper on an hors d’oeuvre tray would be so much fun.