The Jersey tomato always snatches the spotlight, but it's not the only produce the Garden State is famous for: Our sweet corn, grown by the acre and sold at countless roadside stands, has quietly carved out its own reputation for unforgettable flavor.
But doesn't something seem different about that corn nowadays? It was always sweet, yes, but this sweet? And didn't you have to cook it right away, or else the ears would turn into rows of cardboard-dry kernels that gummed up your mouth and ruined your meal?
That might have been true once, but it isn't anymore. Why? New hybrids of the grain that are not only made to last, but also satisfy the most demanding sweet tooth.
On average, the sweetest corn today is about one-third more sugary than the sweetest corn of three decades ago, said Jack Rabin, associate director of farm programs at Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.
Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing depends on one's personal preference, Rabin said, although he hasn't heard any complaints thus far.
Corn has become a big crop in New Jersey — according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 48 million pounds (about $14 million worth) were grown over 6,000 acres in 2013. That's twice the acreage devoted to the vaunted tomato.
"We produce a lot of corn, and we use a lot of land to produce it," said Lynne Richmond, public information officer for the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.
But the reality is that 300 years ago, those perfect ears of yellow-and-white sugary goodness didn't even exist, Rabin said. The sugar that lends the grain its sweetness would immediately turn to starch, and the corn that grew in the Americas tasted terrible.
It wasn't until the 19th century that someone — we don't know who — discovered that the plant had undergone a random gene mutation that enabled it to maintain its sweetness just a little longer. Rabin said it's believed that Native Americans saved those seeds, and colonists began growing the crop. With the arrival of hybrids, like Rabin's personal favorite, Silver Queen, during the Great Depression, availability increased greatly, and scientists gave it the nickname "Su" to denote its sugar content and describe the "wonderfully sweet taste" that created the formidable reputation.
The one drawback? It was a culinary time bomb.
"Even though it had this beautiful texture, it didn't hold for more than one day," Rabin said. "It was only good if you picked it that morning and you boiled it that night."
Boon for farmers
Thus, sugar-enhanced versions ("Se") like Frosty or Whiteout were developed in the 1980s so the kernels would keep their flavor for two or maybe three days, and super-sweet varieties ("Sh2") like Munition could hold even longer (although they didn't have the best reputation for tenderness, Rabin said). Others, like the synergistic ("Sy") and augmented ("Aug"), were combinations of both that sought to create the perfect ear. There's no difference in size or color, and Rabin said, "I think they taste just as wonderful as our memories of yesteryear."
These developments are a boon for farmers like Jason DeGise, who co-owns Demarest Farms Orchard in Hillsdale with James Spollen. The farm has been in DeGise's family since 1886, and they planted 30 acres' worth of corn in April. DeGise said that although an extra day or two's worth of flavor might not sound like a lot, in the fresh produce world, it's an eternity.
"Twenty years ago, the old-fashioned white or yellow corn would be picked when it was ready, but a day later it turned to starch. Now, you can pick it on Monday and it tastes just as good on Wednesday," he said.
Customers haven't noticed the change, he said, and many simply expect the product to always be good. But before the se and sh2 varieties hit the market, sinking your teeth into an earful of gummy kernels was much more commonplace.
Shorter maturation
"If you had the corn from years ago, I don't know if you'd like to eat that now," said Todd Keuhm, owner of Farm's View in Wayne, who also noted the improved flavor retention that genetic improvements have bestowed.
On top of that, Rabin said, the new varieties have a shorter maturation period, meaning they arrive on the market about two weeks earlier than they used to.
"That two weeks is the difference in making your money for the whole year," he said. "And if one farmer has sweet corn on July 4, and one has it on July 20 … well, who do you think is going to the bank afterwards?"
But if you don't get it straight from the farmer's hands, what exactly are you getting? And how fresh is it?
Rabin said the answer depends on how much local grocery store managers care about their produce. Some stores have deals with local farmers that lead to morning deliveries of fresh-picked produce, but others are happy with ears grown in Florida, shrink-wrapped, and shipped to New Jersey. This often happens in May or June, he said, just before the local farmers have begun their harvest.
"I don't care how many good genes are put in it, with that amount of time, some of that sugary texture is going to convert to a grainy starch," he said. "You might as well buy frozen corn in the bag until the season [in New Jersey] starts."
Chef Kevin Portscher, 30, has owned the Village Green restaurant in Ridgewood for the past three years, and said the freshly-picked South Jersey crop is "far superior" to what's found in supermarket bins.
Portscher is a bit of a mad scientist when it comes to corn, and has incorporated it into all sorts of dishes — his corn gelato was a big hit this summer. The grain's longer shelf life helped him avoid spending money on fresh shipments that sit around for a day, only to be thrown out if no one orders them.
"It helps keep food costs down," he said. "And it allows for a nice, sweet flavor [in a dish] without having to add processed sugars to it."
Adam Weiss, the 37-year-old chef of Ridgewood's Due, said that he's noticed the increasing sweetness over the years, but that's not a bad thing in his line of work.
"You use its natural sweetness in an additive sort of way — to counteract the saltiness of something," he said. "And it's a great accent."
When the sweetness isn't there, or the quality is lacking, the dish must be changed accordingly.
"That's when you have to add more salt or sugar, because if the quality is lower, you have to force the flavors out by other means, even if that's grilling or boiling," he said.
However, chef Christine Nunn, who said she will be opening the Ridgewood restaurant Picnic on the Square in two weeks, believes the opposite: We have lost something with the new breeds, which taste nothing like the corn she grew up eating during summers in Maine.
"It just doesn't taste like corn," she said. "It tastes like candy corn to me, and you can see that by how many people are racing to put it in desserts, like crème brûlée."
She has found a way to cook it that she likes — sautéing it for a minute with butter, herbs and a little salt to balance out the sugar — but finds that eating it on the cob can be a bit much.
Vincent Barce-lona, 50, corporate chef for Supreme Oil Company/ Admiration Foods in Englewood, had a slightly different take, and said that although the consistently sweet corn has made his life easier — there are fewer "bad batches" nowadays — he's against the seed modifications that have taken place to get it that way.
"Part of what makes our job interesting and creative is that we cook from the land," he said. "The challenge of cooking is what I signed up for, and we shouldn't be looking to make things easier, or look for the quick fix."
Email: janoski@northjersey.com
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http://www.northjersey.com/food-and-dining-news/food-news/the-changing-tastes-of-jersey-corn-1.1104404?page=all
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