Vince Allegri has perfected the art of choosing the creamiest corn. “You can put your hand on the top side of the corn, and you can tell if it’s filled out or not,” says the owner of Allegri Farm Market. “People in the store will try to find the fattest ear in the middle. That’s not what you want. You want to grab the top of the ear and make sure it’s filled out.”
Allegri first started farming vegetables in 1983 on his family land in Daphne after someone advised him he would have to find his own niche in the farming world to make it. “I was told back in those days, you couldn’t start farming from scratch,” said Allegri. “I proved a lot of people wrong because of what I chose to grow.”
Through the years, the crops have evolved but still promise that juicy sweetness our June palates are searching for. “The silver queen was a great corn when that was all we had,” he says. During the days of planting silver queen, Allegri’s customers would demand corn picked the very same day because they could immediately detect the starchiness of day-old corn. “With these newer varieties, you can pick them today, cool them down and sell them tomorrow,” he explains. “You can’t tell the difference.”
Despite the hardiness of these modern varieties, Allegri still recommends eating corn within the first three to four days to maximize its sweet flavor and creamy texture. While he’ll disclose planting silver king, his other varieties remain a trade secret.
Allegri’s commitment to his crop has not gone unnoticed over the four decades he has been growing sweet corn. “I had a nickname around a lot of the stores when I used to deliver years ago as the sweet corn man, and I took pride in that because I’m always going to make sure my corn is the best corn that can go in the sack.”
The Corn Man
While the “Sweet Corn Man” resides on the Eastern Shore, on the other side of the Bay lives another man claiming “The Corn Man” title. After working tirelessly for 21 years as an operating room nurse, Chip Roberts decided to launch “Shux Y’all Fire Roasted Corn”— a food truck specializing in, you guessed it, corn.
“When the pandemic came along, I was burnt out in the operating room,” said Roberts. Inspired by his grandfather who grew corn on his farm in Tanner Williams, Roberts started his corn business out of an old horse trailer dubbed “The Corn Wagon.”
“My mom laughed at me when I told her,” says Roberts. “I woke up in the middle of the night. It was 2:30 am. I sat up and said, ‘I’m going to call it Shux Y’all.’”
He booked his first gig through his cousin, Jeff Roberts, owner of Yellowhammer Coffee, when Jeff was hosting a party for his staff. He ran out of corn in the first 20 minutes and begged his cousin to bring over another batch. Roberts obliged and has been booked roasting corn ever since.
His transformation from nurse to corn roaster was complete when his fanbase renamed him “the Corn Man.” While he now operates in a full-fledged food truck, Roberts’ loyal customers are still nostalgic for the early days of the original corn wagon. So much so that he is now converting another trailer to add to his corn roasting fleet. He lovingly refers to this new addition as “Little Shux.”
Roberts’ original menu only offered corn on the cob but has expanded over the years to include corn cups, street corn nachos, street corn baked potatoes and other delicacies. Recently, he started canning his street corn for customers to enjoy at home. While he did not follow in his grandfather’s footsteps as a corn farmer, Roberts is continuing his family legacy in his own unique way as “the Corn Man.”
Summer Staple
Chef Sally Stringfellow unearthed her taste for corn growing up on a farm with acres of the tall green stalks surrounding her like a quivering wall. “I can remember sitting in that chair with my grandmother and shucking those corn husks,” she says. “She taught me how to use a brush to get the silk off.”
For those who grew up a little further from the source, the local farm stand signals the start of summer when signs begin to advertise the arrival of fresh corn. “Baldwin County is where the best corn comes from,” says Stringfellow. “It’s not even worthwhile to buy corn anywhere else.” You can catch Stringfellow at Hazel’s every Wednesday during the summer carefully selecting the sweetest ears of corn. “If it’s been sitting there and it’s at the bottom, don’t buy it,” she advises. “Don’t try to shuck it but feel the kernels inside the corn.”
Sweet summer corn is one of the most versatile summer staples for backyard barbecues and dinner parties alike. For a cookout, Chef Stringfellow recommends first blanching the corn and then grilling it. She loves to offer guests an assortment of herb or flavored butters. For private dinner parties, Stringfellow’s more elegant summer menus often showcase local sweet corn in everything from creative cream sauces to succotash to corn gratin.
While she loves to experiment with the summer vegetable, she says you can’t go wrong with just adding salt and butter. “The corn itself is a thing of beauty.”
Summer Corn FAQs
What is field corn?
99 percent of the corn grown in the US is field corn. If you drive down the road from Allegri’s, you’ll discover more corn fields at Sirmon Farms, but you won’t find this corn at markets like Hazel’s and Allegri’s. That’s because what you’ll see is field corn — an agricultural term encompassing corn grown for livestock feed, corn syrup and other uses.
“Everybody comes in the market and asks why we’re not picking all this corn down the road,” says Allegri. “They don’t realize that’s not sweet corn. They think it’s a big waste going on. They just don’t understand the difference between sweet corn and field corn.”
Joel Sirmon of Sirmon Farms has been growing corn his entire life, raising it primarily for livestock feed, fuel and sweetener. “One bushel of corn is enough sweetener for 400 cans of soda,” he explains.
One of the stark differences of farming field corn and sweet corn is the amount of manual labor. While field corn is harvested entirely with a machine, the process of harvesting sweet corn is still done by hand although machines can be used. That’s because sweet corn is picked earlier at the milk stage when the kernels are sweet, plump and delicate. “People think we’ve killed the corn by leaving it on the stalk to dry,” says Sirmon. To put it simply, field corn husks are brown and sweet corn husks are green.
How to choose summer sweet corn:
- You want bright green, damp husks that feel fresh and are tightly wrapped. When the husk starts to yellow, lose color or dry out, the corn inside is, too.
- The silks should be brown and full above the husks, pale and moist inside the husks. Avoid black silks that indicate the corn is old.
- Local farmers and farm stand owners say that peeling back the husk is a big no-no, and not necessary. Just feel the corn gently through the husk. It should feel full and heavy the length of the cob. Vince Allegri says, “You want to grab the top of the ear, not just the middle, and make sure it’s filled out, too.”
How to store it at home:
Place fresh ears of corn in the refrigerator as soon as you get home from the market and use within 1-3 days of purchase. For best results, place in a plastic bag or wrap in damp paper towels to retain moisture.
How to boil it right:
Fresh sweet corn can be eaten raw — try slicing the kernels off the cob and adding to a salad sometime! Knowing that, avoid any recipes with long cooking times. A good ear of corn should cook for only about a minute or two at a rolling boil, but 3 minutes max.
What about worms?
Many ears of corn reveal bright green creepy crawlers when you begin to peel back the husks. Don’t despair! While some farmers use pesticides to rid their crop of these critters, their presence actually means that corn is good to eat and not so overly sprayed with chemicals. If a spray kills the worms who eat it, it might be a substance you don’t want to eat either. Just knock the worms into the trash can and move on.
3 Fresh Summer Corn Recipes
Southern Summer Succotash
SERVES 6
Ingredients
1 15-ounce bag frozen lima beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups sliced okra
2-3 ears of white corn, kernels removed or 1 15-ounce bag frozen corn
8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons butter
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Add 2 cups water and frozen lima beans to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add okra and saute until tender. Add corn, cooked lima beans and tomatoes, and saute another 5 minutes. Add butter, green onions and crumbled bacon and stir until butter is melted and well distributed. Season with salt and generous amounts of fresh cracked pepper, to taste. Serve warm.
Corn and Cracked Pepper Pasta
SERVES 6
Ingredients
16 ounces cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 16-ounce bag fusilli pasta
2-3 ears of white corn, kernels removed or 1 15-ounce bag frozen corn
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
8 ounces fresh mozzarella
Fresh basil leaves, chopped, for garnish
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375. Place cherry tomatoes in a small baking dish and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast until blistered and soft, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. In the last minute or two of cooking, add corn and stir until blanched. Drain pasta and corn, reserving a little pasta cooking water. Return pasta to pot and stir in ricotta. Add a little cooking water to thin the ricotta if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Lightly grease a large baking dish and pour pasta mixture into dish. Top with sliced mozzarella and tomatoes. Crack lots of extra pepper over the top of the dish and broil for 5 minutes, or until the mozzarella is browned and bubbly. Sprinkle basil leaves over and serve warm.
New Mexico Corn Salad
SERVES 6
Ingredients
2 – 3 ears of white corn, or 1 15-ounce bag frozen corn
8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/3 cup thinly-sliced red onion
2 radishes, thinly sliced
2 avocados, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup crumbled cotija cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Tortilla chips, optional
Directions
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add ears of corn. Simmer 1-2 minutes, just until tender. (Cook frozen corn according to package directions) Drain and let cool, then remove kernels from ears.
2. Add corn to a large mixing bowl with all remaining ingredients and stir gently to combine. Serve immediately for maximum crispness of produce.
*Cooks note: can be made a day ahead of time and stored in fridge, but don’t add the avocado until just before serving.
