Sallee's Pantry Style Corn

 Canned corn from your pantry can be made to taste like fresh corn. You do not think I am telling you the truth? Well, my husband does not call me a kitchen wizard for nothing. Sometimes the secret to preparing something tasty is to keep it simple and this bit of kitchen magic is simplicity itself.

The Secret Process 

1. Open a can of whole kernel corn and drain well.
2. Place two tablespoons of salted butter (not margarine, butter)in an eight inch skillet and melt the butter over low heat.
3. Add the drained corn and sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar over the corn.
4. Gently stir the corn once or twice. Bring to a simmer and gently stir the corn once or twice again.
5. Once the corn is nice and hot, it is ready to serve.

I allow two tablespoons of butter and one teaspoon of sugar for each 14-15 ounce can of corn when I am cooking for company.

Sounds too easy to be true doesn't it? Well the corn was originally crisp, but the canning liquid will make the kernels soggy if you just dump the can contents into a saucepan. Heating the corn in a skillet with butter (not margarine, butter) allows the corn to regain most of its original crispiness. The sugar helps it to taste like fresh sweet corn.

My inspiration for preparing my corn in this manner is my mom. Mom always takes cleaned ears of field corn and then adds sugar to the cooking water. The field corn is much sweeter when it is cooked this way.

I know that margarine is cheaper than butter, but your end result will not taste the same. I experimented with margarine, light margarine, and butter. The best results are with butter.