Growing up in Lancaster County, sweet corn season was a big deal. Corn is already a major player in the rural area, for both production and agrotourism — I’ve never met a more daunting corn maze than the one at Cherry Crest Adventure Farm in Ronks — but sweet corn season is the peak of it all. Local farm stands held countdowns, one even breaking out a larger-than-life wooden corn cutout to display the number of days until corn kickoff.
This kernel craze isn’t limited to Lancaster County. Across Pennsylvania, people wait in anticipation for a taste of sweet corn. It’s all in the flavor: unlike store-bought ears, farm-fresh corn pops with a sweet, buttery taste that only intensifies with a quick boil and douses of butter and salt.
Get yourself a taste of the sweetness this weekend by grabbing a few ears at your area farm (we’ve got a few recipes for you to try!) or snagging a corn-y dish from a local eatery.
For seven generations, Shenot Farm has been harvesting some of the area’s best sweet corn. White and bi-color corn are on their list, along with tomatoes and peaches, and everything good and growable! Stop by their Wexford market to pick up some corn before diving into the “party for the palate,” which is a zesty, creamy, and spice-dusted ear of street corn. Here’s a recipe we love for delicious elote, aka Mexican-style street corn.
Though known best for their apples and apple cider, this family-owned farm in Wexford grows a wide range of produce, including sweet corn. Snag a few ears from their on-site market to make this summer corn chowder, the type of soup you want to make a double batch of, or corn flan, a savory version of the popular Puerto Rican dessert from chef Jamilka Borges.
On Fridays, Bloomfield’s beloved green market, featuring fresh produce from local farmers and delicious treats from neighborhood makers, serves up tacos from the front walk. “Fiesta, fiesta,” as it’s lovingly called on the market’s social media pages, regularly features tacos, quesadillas, sope, and elote (street corn). Get a taste for their freshly-made elote, charred corn slathered in a creamy, spicy, and cheese-spiked sauce.
Pittsburghers are lucky enough to have access to a local farmers’ market in a different area of the city every single day. Check out our list daily of famers’ markers and get ready to get shuckin.
Story by Maggie Weaver / Photography by Adam Milliron / Styling by Ana Kelly
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