
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 15, 1990                   TAG: 9006150315
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Cox News Service
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

SUPERSWEET CORN HITS THE GROCERY STORES

The first time you taste supersweet corn, you'll probably think you've gotten your courses mixed up. It's like eating dessert first.

But, no, it's a simple ear of corn - supersweet corn, a veggie variety that is hitting the supermarkets' bulk bins and the stalls at farmers' markets.

As the name implies, supersweet corn is ultra-sweet. Too sweet for some. Deliciously sweet for others. It comes in yellow, white or a bicolor cob that goes by such names as butter-and-sugar because of its yellow and white kernels. And it can vary in sweetness.

The supersweet corn is sold under many trade names such as How Sweet It Is, Real Sweet, Funks G-90. It is a relatively new corn, a hybrid about 3 years old. Unlike field corn whose sugar starts turning to starch almost as soon as it is picked, the supersweet corn remains sweet a long time.

If the corn accidentally gets pushed to the back of the refrigerator, it will still be sweet after two weeks, said Vince Walker, a supermarket produce buyer. "It's so sweet, we sometimes eat it raw," he said.

The corn can be frozen without blanching. Pull back the shucks, leaving them attached, and remove the silks. Then replace the shucks over the ear and fasten the end with a rubber band. Freeze it for up to a couple of weeks.

Cook supersweet corn like regular corn by dropping it in boiling water, heating it in the shucks in the microwave oven, or making it into creamed corn.

Then skip dessert.

by CNB