Sweet Corn

13 Sweet Corn Uncle Russ loves sweet corn. Once, he said to me, “ Do you know what we, as Canadians, are proud of?" Before I could answer, he said, " Sweet corn. " I knew he was exaggerating, but that shows just how much he loves sweet corn. Each year, Uncle Russ has a picnic party. Sweet corn is one of the main foods he serves to his guests. One of the reasons, he says, is because one year, his cousins came to visit from France. They asked specifically for sweet corn during their stay in Ottawa, and they never tired of it. One evening, we got a call from Uncle Russ. “ Come over quick! " he exclaimed. “ I have something special. " It turned out that my uncle had just returned from Toronto. On the way home, he saw a farmer selling sweet corn on the road beside a cornfield. He pulled over and bought five dozen cobs of sweet corn- filling nearly half of his trunk. While the sweet corn was cooking, he said, “ Do you know that sweet corn, when it's freshly picked from the garden, is far tastier than the corn sold in big grocery stores?" " Why?" I asked.

" It's because the sugar in sweet corn quickly turns to starch, giving it a dull flavour after only a day or so. You'll see what I mean, " he said as he collected the corn from the pot. " Wow! " my brother said. “ It's really sweet! " " And tasty, " I agreed. “ And it's also very nutritious, " my uncle added. “ Each cob provides roughly 22 percent of the daily requirements of vitamins A and C, magnesium and iron. " As we enjoyed feasting on sweet corn, my uncle explained that not many countries can grow it. When it's used as a fresh crop, it must be refrigerated immediately and moved to market quickly in order to retain its sweet quality. Because of this, very little fresh sweet corn is exported to other countries. " Oh, Canada! Oh, sweet corn. Our home and native land, " my uncle sang, half-joking. He wishes more of the world could taste some freshly harvested Canadian sweet corn. Yes, Uncle Russ loves sweet corn.