Appalachian sour corn

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With summer, here at least, comes sweet corn.

And with sweet corn comes the feeling of ephemerality: Once picked, those sweet-as-sugar kernels turn starchy quickly, meaning the clock is ticking to use your corn up as soon as you bring it home.

One of my favorite ways to use sweet corn is in sour corn: A short fermented recipe that is packed with flavor and keeps in the fridge for a couple weeks (and possibly longer, though I have yet to go more than two weeks without eating it all).

Sour corn is quick to prepare (the video of me making it, linked below, is just 8 minutes even with all the prep and chatting): A wonderful example of how we can incorporate simple, mindful fermentation practices into our daily lives, something I've been pondering on a lot lately thanks to my new class that I mentioned in the last newsletter.

It's also satisfying, and at home on a salad or potato or piece of meat. Really, anywhere you would consider putting a sour relish situation is a place this relish will shine.

Sour corn is a dish traditionally prepared by the Cherokee in the southern Appalachians, long before colonizers like my ancestors showed up. Once they did, they learned about and started making sour corn as well, which was at least at one point a pretty common food in the region. It's still eaten here, though I tend to see it more on home tables than in restaurants or shops.

It is a food that speaks to making the best use of what's around you while it's abundant; celebrating its flavor and preserving it as a nutritional source for later.

Typically, sour corn is just that: corn that has been briefly lactofermented. But like with chow chow (another southern relish, also highly recommended), there are different versions made with different ingredients. I often see diced bell pepper and/or shredded carrot added to the mix, but the magic of this (or any) recipe is that you can experiment with the flavors you want.

For a full demonstration of this recipe (and a peek at my overgrown yard), check out this video.

Appalachian sour corn recipe

There are a few ways to go about making sour corn: You can ferment the whole cobs, cut the cobs up into a few pieces, or you can strip the kernels from the cob and ferment them (make sure to save the cobs to simmer for corn stock, below).

First things first: leaves and brine

In all cases, remove the leaves and silk from your corn before proceeding.

Basically, we're placing the corn in a container and pouring brine (salt water) over it until it's completely covered.

I use a 2-3 % brine here, or about 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp per quart.
Use sea salt or kosher salt: nothing with added anti-caking agents or other nonsense, which can mess up the ferment, and stir to dissolve in room temperature water (the room temperature part is important, otherwise you're killing the bacteria that will ferment your corn).
In an ideal world, you're using distilled water or some such, but in reality most municipal tap waters should work alright in a pinch.

Step one: put corn in a container

Fermenting the whole cobs is certainly easiest: just toss them in a large crock or other food safe container, then cover with room temperature brine.

If you're cutting your cobs up into pieces, do the same thing: Cut them to whatever size you want (a few inches is usually my go to), throw them in a container, pour brine over to cover.

If you don't have a big container, or want to use your cobs for stock (recommended!), set your cob upright in a bowl to catch the kernels, then run a knife down the base of the kernels to cut them from the cob. Put your kernels, and any other veggies you might want to add, into a jar/crock/other container, and pour room temperature brine over it to cover.

In all cases, put a lid/tea towel/some sort of covering over your fermentation vessel to keep out unwelcome guests (like fruit flies).

Step two: let your corn sit

The magic of lactofermentation is that once you've put everything in your crock/jar/whatever, most of the hard work is done. Let your corn sit out, checking daily (I'd give it a shake or a stir).

Taste your corn each day: Once it has a flavor you like, put it in the fridge. Mine typically ferments 2-3 days to get as sour as I want it. There are no right or wrong answers here: If it tastes good to you, it's ready.

Step three: eat

If you removed your corn kernels from the cobs, you're good to go: Just pop that jar right in the fridge.

If you fermented whole cobs or sliced cobs, remove your corn from the cobs and add it (plus brine) to a jar. Add any other veggies, if desired. Small pieces are better here so they soak up the brine more quickly. Store your jar in the fridge.

To serve, I recommend putting the corn on most everything you eat for several weeks until you run through your entire stash. Lament your lack of sour corn and rush to make more. Repeat as long as corn is in season.

Bonus: Corncob stock

 I always shed a tear or two when I see people throw perfectly serviceable corncobs in the compost or trash. Instead, make this recipe to suck every bit of flavor and starch from those cobs, then compost at will.

Corn stock is delicious: Rich and full of corn flavor, a perfect base for everything from a brothy shrimp soup to a hearty veggie stew. It’s a great way to use up your corncobs after making creamed corn, so nothing goes to waste.

To make corncob stock, take corncobs that you’ve cut the kernels from and add to a stock pot, adding 3-4 cups water per cob.

Add in diced onion, carrot, and celery, plus a bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste.

For extra rich flavor, add a ham hock at the start of cooking (just make sure to reduce the amount of salt you add).
If you're vegan or vegetarian, you can get some umami depth by adding a bit of soy sauce or miso paste (again, adjust your salt accordingly!)

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by about 1/3 and it has a nice, strong corn flavor. If you want a stronger flavor, just cook it down to concentrate the flavor further.

This recipe is adapted from my class on Southern Appalachian preserves. Folks who sign up for Root membership by becoming paid newsletter subscribers, or signing up on the website or through Patreon, get this and the sowans (Scottish sour oats) class for free.