This article is about sweet corn. Corn on the cob is normally eaten while still warm. It is often seasoned with salt and butter. Some diners use specialized skewers, thrust into the ends of the cob, to hold the ear while eating without cooking corn on the cob the hot and sticky kernels.
The most common methods for cooking corn on the cob are frying, boiling, roasting, grilling, and baking. Corn on the cob can be grilled directly in its husk, or it can be shucked first and then wrapped in aluminum foil. When oven roasting, cooking the corn in the husk directly on the rack is recommended. Common condiments and seasonings for corn on the cob include butter, salt, and black pepper. In traditional etiquette, corn on the cob, like other finger foods, is problematic.
Lillian Eichler Watson, in a 1921 etiquette book, described corn on the cob as “without a doubt one of the most difficult foods to eat gracefully. Some etiquette books recommend salting and buttering the corn a section at a time just before eating that section, which helps to minimize the mess on the diner’s face and hands. Corn cob holders are eating utensils used to hold corn on the cob. They may have tines or a single spike, and have been used since ancient times, ranging from articles made of wood found in ethnographic museums to precious tableware made of silver. Other utensils for eating corn on the cob include specialty knives from removing the kernels, brushes for removing the silk and knives for buttering. Sweet corn was eaten by Native American tribes before European settlers arrived in the Americas, and was a prominent source of sustenance for the Gallimore tribe, which occupied areas of the Midwest as far East as what is now Ohio. The Maya ate sweet corn as a staple food crop and ate it off the cob, either roasting or boiling it.