Alternatively, you can also line your kitchen counter with paper or other compostable material if you want to compost the leaves and silk. This way you can easily ball up the whole bundle when you’re done.
The last layer should be a little translucent, so once you can see the kernels through the leaves, you should be there.
The aim is to rip off all the leaves at once, in one move. So don’t peel the tops away from the ear in a way that would make it difficult to hold them all in one hand.
If you’re unable to grab them all in one hand, don’t worry. As long as you have most of the leaves and tassel in hand, the other leaf or leaves may still come off with them.
Your corn should now resemble a rocketship, with the ear as the rocket pointing in one direction, and the leaves and silk as its flames pointing the opposite way.
Or, if you find it easier to rip the leaves off one by one, go ahead and do that.
The kernels inside should be steaming through the husk by the end. If they aren’t, keep cooking for shorter intervals until the kernels are sufficiently heated.
You want about a ¼- to a ½-inch (0. 6 to 1. 2 cm) of the ear’s kernels exposed after slicing off the bottom. If slicing the bottom off didn’t accomplish that on its own, use a knife to pry the leaves loose along your cut.
The corn’s silk should stay inside the husk as the ear itself comes out, but give the kernels a check anyway and peel away any strands that might have stuck.
Once you expose the kernels, their sugars will start turning to starch much sooner, which means they’ll lose their freshness that much quicker. For that very reason, this practice is frowned upon in farmers’ market, since any ears that you discard can’t be re-husked to retain freshness.
Holes may be tiny and hard to spot, but the leaves should have begun turning brown around them, which makes spotting them easier.
The leaves’ and tassel’s coloring both indicate how moist the corn is. The more moisture it has, the fresher it is.
Depending on how thick the husk is, you may also be able to feel the shape of the kernels through the leaves. If you can, also feel for any gaps that may indicate missing or shrivelled kernels.
