Vegetables · Pods, beans & sprouts
Sweet corn
Sweet yellow kernels on the cob or loose (fresh, frozen or canned), grilled, boiled or added to salads and soups.
Also called: corn, corn on the cob, corn kernels, maize, elote, mısır, bhutta
Photo: The original Uploader was wstoakLL at English Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons (public-domain)
What it is
Sweet corn is maize harvested young while the kernels are juicy and sugary. It is sold as whole cobs in husks, or as frozen or canned kernels. Field corn, dried and ground into cornmeal or masa, is a different, starchier type. Baby corn is picked even earlier.
Zea mays (saccharata)
How it’s used
- Grilled or boiled on the cob (elote, bhutta)
- Added to soups, chowders and fritters
- Tossed into salads and salsas
- Creamed corn and corn bread
- Stir-fried with butter and spices
Characteristics
- Taste
- Sweet and milky.
- Texture
- Juicy, popping kernels.
- When cooked
- Sugars turn to starch after picking, so fresh cobs are best eaten soon; cook briefly.
- Sold as
- fresh, frozen, canned
- Cooking uses
- Commonly cooked, Suitable for grilling, Suitable for boiling
- Common in
- Mexican, American, Peruvian, Indian, South African, Chinese, Southern US
Storage
Refrigerated. Refrigerate cobs in their husks and cook as soon as possible; freeze or keep canned kernels for convenience.
Diet, allergens and safety
No major allergens in typical versions.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 86 kcal
- Protein
- 3.27 g
- Carbohydrate
- 18.7 g
- Fat
- 1.35 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
- Sugars
- 6.26 g
USDA FoodData Central: Corn, sweet, yellow, raw.
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
- Green peas — In rice and salads; similar sweetness.
Related ingredients
Recipes with sweet corn
See all 30
Aguadito de pollo
Peruvian · 1 h 5 min · 408 kcal
Ajiaco santafereño
Colombian · 1 h 40 min · 345 kcal
Anticuchos de corazón
Peruvian · 45 min · 491 kcalBatar daan
Timorese · 1 h 15 min · 318 kcal · VeganBulalo
Filipino · 3 h 35 min · 260 kcalCachapas
Venezuelan · 35 min · 483 kcal · VegetarianCaldo de res
Mexican · 2 h 50 min · 315 kcal
Cazuela de vacuno
Chilean · 2 h 5 min · 404 kcalCheese corn paratha
Indian · 1 h 4 min · 325 kcal · VegetarianChupe de camarones
Peruvian · 1 h 15 min · 723 kcal
Corn chowder
American · 50 min · 281 kcal
Corn fritters
New Zealand · 25 min · 304 kcal
18 more
- Elote · Mexican
- Githeri · Kenyan
- Nigerian salad · Nigerian
- Olla de carne · Costa Rican
- Pastel de choclo · Chilean
- Peruvian arroz con pollo · Peruvian
- Peruvian ceviche · Peruvian
- Pizza paratha · Fusion
- Porotos granados · Chilean
- Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Corn · International
- Sancocho · Caribbean
- Sancocho de siete carnes · Dominican
- Sancocho panameño · Panamanian
- Solterito arequipeño · Peruvian
- Sweet corn chaat · Indian
- Sweet corn soup (Indo-Chinese) · Indian
- Sweetcorn and egg soup · Cantonese
- Three-Bean Vegetable Chili · International
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