Tag: corn

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Jelly for Scrimpers

By Laura Johnson Andrews

Corncob jelly is a curiosity of old cookbooks, something that conjures visions of pioneer households and frugal living. It takes a real scrimper to look at a bare cob destined for the cookstove or outhouse and think,”Gosh, I wish I could get one more use out of that.”

In lieu of actual evidence, we tend to assume that all foods were invented via the accidental collision method made famous in Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups commercials of the 1970s and’80s. Can’t you imagine two pioneer women bumping into each other on the prairie, saying,”You got your corncobs in my pot of boiling hot sugar water!””Oh yeah, well you got YOUR sugar water on MY corncobs!” before they realize that the resulting mÈlange is delicious?

Maybe, maybe not. In the early days of Dakota homesteading, salting, drying or storing food in the root cellar were more common methods of food preservation than canning. Oh, canning existed — a French cook, Nicholas Appert, won 12,000 francs off Napoleon Bonaparte in 1810 for developing a food-storage system that would help keep the French army fed and in fighting condition. Appert’s approach involved putting food in jars, corking them and sealing them with wax. The jars were then wrapped in canvas and boiled. In 1858, Philadelphia tinsmith John Landis Mason patented the Mason jar and accompanying zinc screw-on lid. The Ball brothers and others ran with the concept after Mason’s patent ran out in 1879. Lightning jars (glass canning jars with glass lids) came along in the early 1900s, and it wasn’t until 1915 that Alexander Kerr came up with the two-piece lid that home canners use today.

Settlers were certainly canning in Dakota Territory by 1875. Jellies, pickles and preserves went on display at the first territorial fair, held in Yankton on September 29-30 of that year. Corncob jelly didn’t make an appearance, but pear preserves, cherry and peach pickles and jarred plums all won awards. (Mrs. A. J. Faulk, wife of the former territorial governor, won a prize for her chokecherry jelly, but considering that her daughter, wife of prominent territorial politician/crook Walter Burleigh, was one of the judges … well, perhaps you’ll pardon our cynicism.)

All politics aside, we can all appreciate the fact that corncob jelly never was the first jar of preserves our grandmothers set out when company came, and they probably chose flashier recipes to submit to the church cookbook. However, we did locate a modern-day corncob jelly aficionado at Colome, where Fran Hill writes a food blog (my-plate.blogspot.com) and also finds time to make jams and jellies with all sorts of South Dakota blessings — from wild grapes to apples, beets and chokecherries.

“One of the first cookbooks that I owned as a newlywed contained a heritage recipe for corncob jelly,” Hill says.”It called for dried red corncobs from field corn used to feed livestock. The cobs were weighted down in a large pot of water and boiled to create a rosy-colored stock from which the jelly was made. The entry claimed it would taste like apple, and I was immediately curious.”

Hill begged her farmer-husband, Brad, for dried corncobs, but he patiently explained that cobs went out of fashion with yesterday’s corn pickers. Modern grain combines chew up and spit out the cobs, leaving them fit for little more than compost.

We grow 5 million acres of corn in South Dakota. That’s nearly a billion bushels, and yet cobs are hard to collect for many canners.

However, years later the ever-resourceful Hill began to strip her garden sweet corn for freezing and soon found herself ankle-deep in good cobs.”Now I had the Internet on my side when I searched for corncob jelly,” she says.”I tested a few recipes and found a method that suited me. It does somewhat taste like apple jelly, although not nearly as tart.”

For jelly with a little kick, she adds finely diced jalapeÒo to simmer with the corn stock before adding the sugar. Cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise, cardamom pods, or a combination of any or all could be simmered with the corncobs when making the stock for a different kind of spice.

“The recipe is as adaptable as the homesteaders that created the concept of corncob jelly,” Hill says. Here is her recipe.

Corncob Jelly

12 ears sweet corn

water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 1/2 cups sugar

1 box (1.75 ounce) pectin

Before making the jelly, prepare the canner, jars and lids. Fill the canner with water, bring it to a boil, sterilize the jars and heat the lids according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Cut the corn kernels from the cobs. Set the corn aside for supper; it isn’t needed for this recipe.

Put the corncobs into a large, heavy pot. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. After the corn stock has cooked for 1 hour, measure out 3 1/2 cups of liquid. At this point, you can strain out the bits of stray corn that loosened from the cobs, but I don’t. I like the added texture and interest.

In a smaller, heavy pot, bring the 3 1/2 cups of corn stock and lemon juice to a boil. Stir in the sugar. When sugar has dissolved and the mixture returns to a boil, add the pectin. Return to a hard boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Ladle into sterilized jars, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace, and seal. Process for 10 minutes in the water bath canner. (Yield: 3 pints … I use 1/2 and 1/4-pint jars.)

Note: If you are unsure of the canning process, there are many informative websites that can help.

Editor’s Note: This story is revised from the September/October 2018 issue of South Dakota Magazine. To order a copy or to subscribe, call (800) 456-5117.

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Not the Blue Box

By Fran Hill

Most of us probably have a box or two of Kraft Mac and Cheese hanging out in our pantries. We reach for it when we want something quick and filling. I have mixed mine with tuna, stirred in dill and onion, added sliced hot dogs, and heard of preparations with ground beef, chili, and even using the mix in a salad recipe. The quick and easy options for macaroni and cheese are endless.

Today was cold. OK, today wasn’t just cold. It was a brisk, bitter, biting cold, just as much of our winter seems to have been. All I wanted was comfort food, and I achieved this with a grown-up version of macaroni and cheese that was definitely NOT the Blue Box. Although, preparation was fairly simple, this divine combination of ingredients was impressive enough that it could be served to guests. It isn’t for those counting calories, but it is an indulgence that will leave you wondering if you really want or need that Blue Box, after all.

Warm and cheesy tortellini with corn and bacon tops Kraft Mac and Cheese any day.

Tortellini with Corn and Bacon

12 ounces tortellini (fresh, frozen, or dried … your choice)

6 slices bacon, cut into Ω inch pieces

Ω cup thinly sliced shitake mushrooms

2 large shallots, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 º cups whipping cream

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 Ω cups coarsely grated cheddar cheese

Cook tortellini in large pot of boiling water until tender, but still firm to bite. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 13 x 9 casserole dish. Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate to drain. Add mushrooms to the skillet (with bacon drippings). SautÈ until golden, about 6 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and sautÈ about 5 minutes (until golden). Add tortellini, cream and corn and toss until sauce coats pasta, about 3 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, parsley, and bacon. Transfer to baking dish. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and dish is heated through, about 5-10 minutes. (Serves 6-8)

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and their two dogs ranch near Colome.

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Fields Of Gold

By Katie Hunhoff

Ideally we’d be driving past thriving fields of healthy, ripening corn as we explore South Dakota roads in August, but this year drought has descended on our farms.

Corn has been growing here for hundreds of years. Before Dakota Territory existed, before steel plows were invented. Before the Louisiana Purchase and before Columbus stepped foot in America.

Today our corn crop is impressive. More than 12,500 South Dakota farmers have once again planted about 5.1 million acres. Last year, their efforts yielded a collective 850 million bushels. That contributed $2.6 billion to the state’s economy — over 5 percent of our total gross domestic product.

Yields like that don’t happen by luck. My grandpa was a corn farmer but he probably never harvested more than 75 bushels per acre. In 2015 the state average was 159, according to the South Dakota Corn Growers Association, and the highest yield was 288.62, credited to 38-year-old Joey Waldner of Huron Colony.

“You know everything has to fall together just right to do that,” Waldner told one of our writers. The soft-spoken and modest farmer has been growing corn since he was a boy. He began by helping his father, the Hutterite colony’s farm manager. Joey says the key to a high yield is,”never let the corn have a bad day.” He and his men irrigate and fertilize and spray for bugs and weeds.

My grandpa Bernie Hunhoff and his contemporaries tended their fields with equal care. Some would walk through the corn in the summer, cut the tallest stalk and then carry it in the pickup bed as a conversation piece, or maybe they’d take it to town for a”tallest corn stalk” contest. Today, due to modern genetics, stalks are almost all the same height; you don’t see a stray giant like the good old days. Furthermore, farmers don’t want their corn to grow really tall. They prefer more ears and less stalk.

That may be why”tall stalk” competitions are a thing of the past. But make no mistake — drought or not, corn is still a cultural icon of South Dakota. The rains will fall again — hopefully in time to salvage this year’s crop — and records will be broken for yields per acre. We’ll discover new variations of how to enjoy corn on the cob at the county fairs and the Corn Palace Festival in Mitchell will celebrate farmers Aug. 23-27, rain or shine.

For folks who love nostalgia and athleticism all wrapped in a husk, don’t miss the annual hand corn picking contest set for Oct. 1 at the Jim Redder farm near Flandreau. Men, women, youth and senior citizens all compete for a chance to go to the national meet. The event is free and lunch is available. Call (605) 997-3509 for more info on the contest.

Rain or not, our fields are about to turn gold in South Dakota. Enjoy the celebration of our annual corn harvest.

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Sweet Corn for Winter

By Fran Hill

The first day of autumn isn’t until next week, but fall harvest is well underway. Wheat has all been culled from the fields, and the straw baled. The final cuttings of alfalfa are laying in windrows. Silage choppers are converting corn and cane into feed. We are just a few weeks from the beginning of combining corn, followed by milo.

Just as farmers are reaping the rewards of the growing season, our gardens are turning out ripe tomatoes to be canned. Cucumbers are pickled. Onions are drying. Chokecherries, wild grapes and plums have been jellied and apples are waiting their turn. It is all a lot of effort, but incredibly worthwhile.

I was lucky enough to have friends with a large sweet corn patch this year. Last month, we picked, shucked and processed dozens of ears in preparation for winter meals. There are a variety of methods for processing sweet corn, but I favor a simple approach. I don’t add extra butter, sugar, salt or cream. I prefer simply frozen sweet corn. Plain corn can be used in so many ways throughout the winter. I can add a handful to soups and stews, defrost and stir into salsas, add to pasta dishes, make the sweet corn gravy that I love for my deconstructed fish chowder or simply have sweet corn as a side dish.

While I may freeze simple sweet corn, the side dish needn’t be so plain. A copycat recipe for a famous brand’s Corn in Butter Sauce is always a winner for us. It is easy enough for weeknight suppers and dressed up enough to grace a holiday table. Sweet corn harvest is very much worth all the work for Corn in Butter Sauce on my plate.

Corn in Butter Sauce

Enjoy summer’s sweet corn all year long with recipes like corn in butter sauce.

3 cups frozen corn kernels

1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt

1/2 to 1 teaspoon sugar

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Combine corn (may defrost first, if desired), salt, sugar, and butter in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until butter is melted and corn is heated through. Dissolve cornstarch into the water. Slowly add to the corn and stir thoroughly. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens and corn is tender. (Serves 6)

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and their two dogs ranch near Colome.

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Neighborhood Shopping

By Fran Hill

Supporting the local economy is important in small towns across South Dakota. There aren’t many big business chains in communities with fewer than 500 people. Grocery stores, cafes, auto shops, gas stations and a smattering of retail shops are all owned and operated by our friends and neighbors.

Income gets recycled as this farmer’s great calf crop allows a boost in retail spending, and the extra cash flow through the grocery store means the owner can finally build that deck his wife has wanted on the back of the house. The contractor (local, of course) purchases supplies from his brother-in-law’s lumberyard on the edge of town, and the lumberyard funnels a little support to the youth baseball team. In a small town, one person’s money can really be everyone’s.

This time of year, my favorite way to support the local economy is to buy sweet corn. Drive the main highway of any little town, and I bet you’ll find boys and girls in the corner of a parking lot with a Ranger full of freshly picked sweet corn. They may be selling it by the baker’s dozen, and often the cash will finance football cleats and school supplies. They will happily chat with you, and one will even load the corn in your vehicle while the other collects the cash. It’s the perfect way to support the local economy.

Now that you have this locally-grown, freshly-picked, sweet, tender and juicy corn, you will of course immediately boil a few ears and devour straight from the cob with butter and salt. You may even have bought several dozen from those cute little boys and spend an afternoon or evening cutting the kernels from the cob and processing to freeze. Great sweet corn in the winter is an incredible treat.

When you are done with that, I recommend you try some Creamed Corn with Roasted Green Chiles and Spinach. This delicious side dish combines the smokiness of roasted green chiles with the sweetness of fresh corn and bathes it in cream flecked with colorful (and healthy) spinach and red peppers. A-maize-ing, if you will pardon the pun.

Creamed Corn with Roasted Green Chiles and Spinach

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2-3/4 cup diced onions

1/4 cup diced red pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 4oz can diced roasted green chiles (I used chiles from last year’s garden that I had roasted, chopped, and frozen in ice cube trays…then popped into freezer bags for storage…3 cubes for this dish.)

fresh corn cut from 4-5 ears of sweet corn (or, if you must, frozen corn will work when sweet corn is not in season)

1/2 tablespoon flour

1/2-3/4 cup heavy cream

kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

4 cups chopped fresh baby spinach

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter.

Add the onions and red peppers; sautÈ until translucent.

Add the garlic, being careful not to burn.

Add the sweet corn and stir to coat with butter & onions in the pan.

Allow corn to cook slowly and almost caramelize or brown, but not burn. Stir, but not too frequently. You want a little crust.

Add the green chiles and heat through.

Add the flour and stir to coat the kernels of corn and cook out the “raw” taste.

Add the cream and bring to low simmer.

Reduce heat and simmer to desired thickness for the cream.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the chopped spinach, stir to combine with other ingredients and coat with cream sauce.

Cover skillet and simmer until spinach is wilted. (Serves 4-6)

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and their two dogs ranch near Colome.

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Cornstruction Nearly Complete

We stopped by Mitchell’s Main Street this week to see the progress on major renovations to the Corn Palace. Though the project is running a few months late, the end — or the cornstruction as some call it — is nearly complete.

We got a quick tour from Katie Knutson and Cherie Ramsdell. Katie is the director of Mitchell’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. Cherie is the artist who designs the murals — a task once done by the legendary Oscar Howe.

The changes are making the old palace seem warmer and more people-friendly. Old concrete pillars in the lobby have been redesigned as corn ears, and decorated with ceramic tile from Italy arranged in an abstract way like kernels on a cob. A second floor balcony now hangs above Main Street. Already, the community is using it for Thursday night concerts. A bright second floor area is now devoted to Howe, the Lakota artist. Huge windows have been reopened. The outdoor murals are larger than ever. And the new steel domes give an abstract look of corn husks, especially when lit at night. (They were still sitting on the street when we stopped.)

Congratulations to the Mitchell community. They’ve embraced our corn culture with the palace since 1892. John Philip Sousa performed there in 1904, and since then the big brick barn has been Mitchell’s invite to the world. Today’s Corn Palace leadership has done all of South Dakota a great favor by modernizing and reconfiguring the architectural treasure. Plan to stop and see the changes on your travels.

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Fall Harvest

Scott Korsten shared these photos from near his home outside of Sioux Falls.”The harvest signals the changing of seasons and it is something my wife and I look forward to every year; it seemed like something worth capturing with the camera,” Korsten says.”As I was waiting for the combine to come near me the sights, sounds and smells of the harvest evoked thoughts of how special and connected many people in South Dakota are to the land. Farmers are some of the most resilient and hard-working people I know,” Korsten says.

Peggy Albers drove this combine and she offered Korsten a ride.”She and her husband Darwin tag team the harvest of their farm in northeast Lincoln County. We had a great conversation and when it was time to leave her, I said, ‘My wife is going to be really jealous when she hears I went for a ride,'” Korsten says. “Peggy responded, ‘Bring her out and I’ll give her a ride too.’ So I did, and she did.” See more of Korsten’s work at inspiredbynatureimages.com.

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Beaver Creek Corn Harvest

Photographer Christian Begeman saw something unusual when he stopped at Beaver Creek Nature Area near Brandon last Saturday — a 1954 SC Case tractor, Co-op corn picker and David Bradley wagon were in the park’s 9 acre corn field.

Allen Severtson of Valley Springs was at the wheel.”His hobby is to farm with equipment from yesteryear and he invited to ride along with him for a couple rounds and take photos,” Begeman said.”The corn is shelled and sold and a local farmer gets the cobs.”

See more of Begeman’s photos at cbegeman.blogspot.com or on our website.

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The Original Kimball Popcorn Ball

By Laura Johnson Andrews

If you’ve ever fished a round, hard popcorn ball out of the bottom of your Halloween treat bag, you’ll marvel at the popcorn treats produced in Kimball. The Original Kimball Popcorn Ball is soft and easy to pull apart, sweet but not sticky. (It is possible, for example, to jam a bunch of kernels in one’s mouth while typing and not worry about gumming up one’s keyboard.) David Olson, general manager and part owner of The Original Kimball Popcorn Ball, LLC, says the secret is in the slurry.”Most popcorn balls are made of more of a sugar-water slurry. Our popcorn balls use a soft, slightly sweet marshmallow blend.”

Kimball’s journey on the road to sweet success started when a few locals began selling popcorn balls out of a local gas station. Over the years, they got more and more requests to mail the balls out of town.”Finally, we got a call from a gal in Utah or Nevada. She had an ill family member in the hospital. She asked, ‘What can I get for you?’ and the person requested our Kimball popcorn ball. We felt that was a sign from above that we should get the courage and try to pursue this thing,” said David Olson, general manager and part owner of The Original Kimball Popcorn Ball, LLC.

After a lot of research, Olson and his partners in popcorn, business owners Eric Pulse, Lee Pulse and Scott Handel, decided to take the risk. In August of 2009, they sold their first popcorn balls from their new factory, a small building that was once a convenience store.

The little factory has five part-time employees, but because the owners believe in buying local, Kimball’s treat has a broader impact.”We try to involve as many people as we can,” Olson said. Lakota Foods provides the popcorn, Fatland Honey flavors the honey popcorn ball, and the butter’s bought in bulk at the local grocery store. Even the gas flush, which pushes oxygen out of the packaging to keep the popcorn balls fresh, is procured from the local gas supply company.”We’re just trying to be an important part of Kimball and of the state of South Dakota,” Olson said.

Because of the company’s size, production is done on a relatively small scale, with plenty of human involvement. They pop corn daily in a 48 oz. popper, averaging 50-60 batches a day. Each batch makes 47 or 48 balls. The marshmallow slurry used to bind the balls doesn’t pour easily into a hopper, so workers load the factory’s popcorn ball machine by hand to create 4 oz. popcorn balls in two flavors: original and honey. A new flavor, caramel, should be available in 3 or 4 weeks.

Kimball popcorn balls are available at retail locations in 20 different states and on their website, www.kimballpopcornball.com. The owners are currently investigating the possibility of selling internationally, and hope to someday expand their business to offer smaller popcorn balls.”That is something that some of the big, big buyers want,” Olson said.

One of the biggest obstacles to Kimball’s domination of the popcorn ball world is the perception that popcorn balls are just for Halloween and Christmas. Olson said,”We’re trying to get rid of the bias that popcorn balls are a seasonal item. That’s been a tremendous hurdle to overcome.” But the determined folks in Kimball can do it. It just takes time, hard work, hometown pride and a lot of marshmallow slurry.

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It Takes All Kinds

By Fran Hill

There have been a lot of food trends during the years I have been blogging. The food-centric always seem to be searching for the next big thing and love to pull the obscure into the spotlight. Professional chefs are one minute leaning into batter-dipped and deep-fried everything and the next showcasing the antioxidant, omega-3, healthful benefits of the new”it” vegetable, grain or protein. It takes all kinds to make the world go ’round, and it is no different with the ever-evolving tastes of the food world.

Bacon has always been a breakfast and sandwich favorite, but the last decade has exploded with smoked pork possibilities. Old standards like meatloaf, green beans and mac and cheese are joined by cupcakes, doughnuts, sushi, ice cream and even vodka with bacon strips, crumbles and flavoring.

A movement toward more wholesome eating brought kale to many restaurant menus and home kitchens. The leaves have been roasted and salted into toasty chips, chopped and added to soups and stews, eaten raw in salads, and there isn’t a day that goes by that Instagram isn’t loaded with photos of kale smoothies…which are, in themselves, another food trend.

Low-carb, Paleo, and gluten-free diets left their followers searching for pasta substitutes. Miles of ribbons of zucchini, carrots, and other vegetables have been sliced, sometimes sautÈed or blanched, and tossed with sauce in recent years. An enterprising company even markets a food processor-like tool just to slice these”noodles.”

Cake Pops, pork belly, cupcakes, doughnuts, coffee, slider sandwiches, healthful oils, chia seeds, juicing and whole grains are all included in current trends. I think that there is a proper balance of the so-called naughty and nice in the list. People are picking up a triple-shot-no-foam-soy-latte and cake pop at their favorite coffee joint in the morning and making salmon roasted with olive oil served with a side of quinoa for dinner. It takes all kinds of things to nourish our body and soul, and there is a food trend to satisfy any craving.

If you want to get in on a healthy food trend, you might want to hop on the quinoa bandwagon. This ancient grain-like seed is loaded with nutritious benefits and easy to prepare. Tossed with sautÈed onion, garlic, zucchini and corn and garnished with cilantro and crumbled queso fresco, this is a dish robust enough to stand on its own as a meatless meal, but works just as well on the plate beside your favorite protein.

Quinoa with Corn and Zucchini

Adapted from The New York Times

1 cup quinoa
3 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup fresh sweet corn, cut from the cob (defrosted frozen corn could be used)
1 medium zucchini, sliced into half-moons
2-4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup queso fresco, crumbled (feta could be used)

Add the quinoa to a bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit 5 minutes. Drain through a fine-mesh strainer and rinse until water is clear.

Bring the stock to a simmer in a small saucepan. Heat another medium saucepan over medium-high heat, and add the quinoa. Toast, stirring until the grains have separated and smell fragrant. Slowly add the stock to the pan with the quinoa. (If you pour it in all at once, you could have a quick boil over of quinoa seeds and stock all over your stove…lesson learned the hard way.) Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Drain and return to the pan. Cover and let stand undisturbed for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet. Add the onion; cook, stirring until tender. Add the garlic, corn and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the zucchini is tender. Stir in the quinoa and toss to combine. Heat through, add cilantro and top each serving with crumbled cheese. Serves 6-8.

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and their two dogs ranch near Colome.