I occasionally see recipes that call for “green corn” in hundred-year-old cookbooks. Over the years, I’ve always skipped over those recipes because I was not sure what green corn was. Well, now I know. It’s corn on the cob (sweet corn). Here’s what it said in a 1925 home economics textbook:
GREEN CORN
In selecting corn for cooking, choose those ears that are filled with well-developed kernels, from which milky juice flows when pressed with the thumb. Cook as soon as possible after gathering.
To boil green corn remove silk and husk from the corn, place the ears in boiling water. Cook the corn until no juice flows from the kernels when pressed (usually from 12 to 20 minutes). Serve whole on a platter. The platter may be covered with a folded napkin.
To bake green corn select 6 ears. Remove the corn from the cob as follows: Cut through the center of each row of grains, slice off the tops of the kernels, and then scrape the pulp thoroughly from the cob. Put in a baking dish, add:
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoonful butter or substitute
1 teaspoonful salt
pepper
Bake in a hot oven (400° F.) 45 minutes. Serve hot.
School and Home Cooking (1925) by Carlotta C. Greer
I recently came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Corn Souffle, and decided to try it. The recipe called for separating the eggs and stiffly beating the egg whites, then folding them into a white sauce and corn mixture which is baked.
The Corn Souffle turned out well. It was delicious, and had a light, creamy, pudding-like texture.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: Cook Book Compiled by Women of Country Club Christian Church (Kansas City, Missouri), 1925
Heat oven to 375◦ F. Put egg whites in bowl; beat until stiff. Set aside.
Melt butter in a large saucepan. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Gradually stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Put egg yolks in a small bowl; stir until smooth. Place a small amount (approximately 1 – 2 tablespoons) of hot mixture into dish with egg yolk, 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. Fold in the beaten egg whites. Pour into an 8″X8″X2″ or similar-sized casserole dish. Bake in oven uncovered until thickens (approximately 25 – 35 minutes.)
I love corn on the cob, and make it several times a week during the peak season. I’ve always boiled the corn, but was intrigued by a hundred-year-old recipe for Baking Corn on Cob, and decided to give it a try.
The recipe called for pulling the husk back and removing the corn silk, then soaking in water. After the corn has soaked for half an hour, the husk is pulled back into place, and the corn is baked.
The verdict: The corn was tasty, and the cooked corn was attractive in the husk. Baking the corn on the cob is a nice variation.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: Cook Book of the Susquehanna Valley Country Club, Sunbury, PA (1924)
Pull back the husks on the corn, and remove all the silk. Put the corn (with the pulled-back husks) in a large pan of cold water; let soak for 1/2 hour.
Preheat oven to 400° F. Remove the corn from the pan, and shake off the water. Pull the husks back into place and cover the corn with the husks. Put directly on the wire rack in the oven; bake 30 minutes.
The husk can either be removed before serving or it can be served with the husk still on.
I always enjoy the rich holiday foods – but I also find that I crave simpler comfort foods as the new year rolls around. It’s also the time of year when I enjoy making soups, so I was pleased to find a hundred-year-old recipe for Cream of Corn Soup. The soup included both corn and bits of bacon, and was a delightful taste treat.
This recipe is a keeper. My husband said, “This is good,” which is high praise from him.
Here is the original recipe:
Source: The Calorie Cook Book (1923) by Mary Dickerson Donahey
The old recipe only called for using 1 tablespoon of bacon grease (fat), but that seemed like a very small about of fat when I stirred 2 tablespoons flour into the bacon grease, so I used all the bacon grease that I got when cooking the bacon.
1 can corn (14-16 oz.) or 2 cups fresh corn (cooked) (Either whole kernel or creamed corn can be used. I used a can of whole kernel corn.)
3 strips bacon
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 cups milk
Fry bacon until crisp in a Dutch oven or large saucepan, then remove from pan and crumble into small pieces. Set the crumbled bacon aside.
Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper into the bacon grease (fat). Then gradually add the milk while stirring constantly. Add the corn and crumbled bacon. Stir to combine. Continue heating until hot and steamy.
I see some very basic recipes (I tend to call them non-recipes) for simple foods in both modern and hundred-year-old cookbooks. Apparently both in 2020 and 1920 some cooks had simple questions – like how do you cook corn on the cob?
In 1920 corn on the cob was referred to boiled corn. And, here are directions for making it:
Source: The New Royal Cook Book (1920)
When I made the recipe I skipped the suggestion to put the Boiled Corn on a napkin. Somehow it just didn’t seem necessary – and it seemed like the napkin might get soaked from any water that dripped off the corn.
Husk corn and remove all silk. Fill large pot 2/3’s full with water. Bring water to a boil using high heat. Place husked corn in the boiling water, and boil rapidly for 5 minutes. Use tongs to remove the corn from the water.
Au Gratin Potatoes are tasty, so when I came across a hundred-year-old recipe that looked similar to an Au Gratin Potato recipe – but with a twist (the recipe called for corn in addition to potatoes) – I decided to give it a try.
The Cheese, Corn, and Potatoes were very nice. The rich, cheesy sauce worked nicely with the corn and potato combination.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: Household Arts for Home and School by Anna M. Cooley and Wilhelmina H. Spohr (1920)
The recipe calls for Cheese Sauce. Here is the Cheese Sauce recipe.
Source: House Arts for Home and School by Anna M. Cooley and Wilhelmina H. Spohr (1920)
Ever make a recipe that turned out well, but that required some interpretation and tweaks along the way? Well, this was one of those recipes.
The first decision I needed to make was what kind of canned corn should I use – whole kernel or cream style? I have a vague sense that canned cream-style corn has been around longer than the whole kernel (though I’m not sure), so I went with cream style. I had two cans of corn – 8.25 ounce can and a 14.75 can. The small one contained a little less corn than called for in the recipe; the large on a little more. (The recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of corn.) I decided to go with the small can even though it only contained a little more than 1-cup of corn.
Next I needed to figure out issues related to the Cheese Sauce. The Cheese, Corn, and Potato Scallop recipe called for 2 cups Cheese Sauce, however, when summing the amounts in the list of ingredients in the Cheese Sauce recipe, it was clear that it made less than two cups. The Cheese Sauce recipe called for 1/2 cup of grated cheese, but it did indicate that more could be used. I decided to use 1 cup of cheese so I’d have approximately the correct amount of sauce. All was good.
But, once I’d prepared the Cheese Sauce, I realized that 1 1/2 cups of diced potatoes didn’t seem like very many potatoes given the amount of sauce that I had, so I decided to peel, dice, and cook an additional potato. This gave me about another cup of diced potatoes, so I now had a total of 2 1/2 cups. (If I’d used whole-kernel corn, perhaps the amount of sauce would not have seemed to excessive – not sure.)
When I assembled the ingredients, I just stirred the corn and cooked, diced potatoes into the Cheese Sauce rather than layering; and, then poured into the casserole dish to finish cooking.
Whew, this recipe required lots of interpretation. Sometimes the recipes that look the simplest end up being the trickiest. This recipe required lots of little adjustments, but the final dish turned out well.
I combined the two old recipes into one. Here is the updated recipe for modern cooks:
1 – 1 1/2 cups canned corn (I used a small – 8.25 ounce can – of cream-style corn, which is a little over 1 cup of corn.)
Preheat oven to 400° F. In a saucepan , melt butter using medium heat; then stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Gradually, add the milk while stirring constantly. Add cheese, and continue stirring until the cheese melts and the sauce thickens. Add corn and potatoes, and reheat until hot. Pour into a casserole dish and put in oven; bake for 25 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and the sauce bubbly.
August is my favorite month when it comes to cooking and eating. Gardens and farmers markets are filled with a bounty of fresh vegetables and fruits at their prime – and, to me, corn on the cob is the quintessential August vegetable. But, I also am always looking for different ways to serve corn. So I was pleased to find a classic, very easy, hundred-year-old recipe for Fried Corn.
The corn is fried in a little butter, then seasoned with just a bit of cream, salt and pepper. Frying the corn, removes some of the liquid and brings out its natural sweetness Sometimes simple is best.
Here’s the original recipe:
Source: The Old Reliable Farm and Home Cook Book (1919)
Cut corn off the cob. Melt butter in a skillet. Add corn then, using medium heat, fry the corn until browned, while stirring frequently (approximately 8-10 minutes). Add cream, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to season; stir. Remove from heat and serve.
I occasionally see recipes that call for “green corn” in hundred-year-old cookbooks. Over the years, I’ve always skipped over those recipes because I was not sure what green corn was. Well, now I know. It’s corn on the cob (sweet corn). Here’s what it said in a 1925 home economics textbook:
