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Buttered Sweet Corn

SERVES 15 · PREP 5 MIN · COOK 20 MIN
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings: 15
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 bags about 1 qt each sweet corn, put up with butter, sugar and salt
  • 3 tbsp butter about 1 tbsp per bag, to add at reheat
  • 2 tbsp sugar about 2 tsp per bag, to add at reheat
  • Salt to taste
  • Black pepper to taste

Equipment

  • 1 Heavy Pot or Baking Dish

Method
 

  1. When you put the corn up in summer, cut it off the cob and freeze it with plenty of butter, a little sugar and a little salt already in it.
  2. Let the corn thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
  3. Empty the bags into a heavy pot or baking dish.
  4. Add about 1 tbsp butter and 2 tsp sugar per bag on top of what is already in there.
  5. Heat gently on the stove, or covered in a low oven, stirring now and then.
  6. Heat until the butter is melted through and the corn is hot all the way.
  7. Do not boil it hard.
  8. Taste. Add salt, more sugar or more butter until it tastes right to you.
  9. Hold covered on low until supper.

Notes

Put It Up with the Butter Already In It
When I cut sweet corn off the cob in the summer, I add plenty of butter, a little sugar and a little salt before it ever goes in the freezer. That seasoning goes into the corn while it freezes, not just onto it at supper. It is why this tastes like it came out of the garden in September.
Then Add a Little More When It Comes Out
Even with the butter frozen in, I always add a little more when it comes out of the bag - about 1 tbsp butter and 2 tsp sugar per bag. That is a starting point, not a rule. This is all on your taste, so heat it, taste it, and keep going until it is right.
Good to Know
  • Taste before you add the last of anything. How much it needs depends on how sweet the corn was that year.
  • The sugar is not making it candy - it is bringing back what corn loses between the field and the freezer.
  • Store-bought frozen corn goes in plain, so it will need more butter, sugar and salt than this. Thaw and drain it first.
  • If it looks watery, take the lid off and let it cook down a few minutes.
  • For 6 people instead of 15, use about 1 bag with 1 tbsp butter and 2 tsp sugar, then taste.