How do you butter your corn on the cob?

[Constance]

When I was growing up, our family buttered corn on the cob with a knife, which, while polite, is not very efficient.

Since then, I've tried various ways of delivering butter to cob more efficiently.
I've served melted butter in a bowl with a brush for application. Nice, but still sloppy.
I've bought the squeezable bottles of margarine...works pretty well.
We've served the corn with white bread...you butter the bread generously, then roll your cob on the bread. Once the corn is gone, you eat the bread.
But the most practical way, albeit rather rude, is to just roll the ear of corn in a stick of butter.

So how do you get the butter on your corn?

 

[The Z]

You're funny, Constance... I don't know where you come up with this stuff but, okay, I'll play.

I usually apply my butter with a fork. Because of the gaps between the tines, the butter stays in place better than with a knife. Additionally, the curved shape tends to 'fit' along the curvature of the ear of corn, allowing almost complete use of the butter.

 

[jennyema]

Growing up in the midwest (mostly in Iowa) we ate corn all the time.

We always rolled the corn in the stick of butter, so the butter was always deformed. I don't think it occurred to us to do it any other way.


I don't eat corn much, as constantly eating that and pork chops as a child sorta made me on both, but when I do, I butter it with a pat of butter and a knife. Works ok for me.

 

[GB]

I usually start with a knife, but the butter soon falls onto the place. I then roll the corn on the butter in the plate. That seems to work pretty well.

My MIL just bought us a little gadget though. It holds a half stick of butter. There is a plunger in the back and it pushes the butter out as you apply it. I think she paid less than a buck for it.

 

[GB]

Here is the thing she got us.

 

[vagriller]

We've served the corn with white bread...you butter the bread generously, then roll your cob on the bread. Once the corn is gone, you eat the bread.

I much prefer this method. Anyone that has not tried is hereby commisioned to do so! I do it as much for the bread as for the buttered corn. What's better than soft bread and butter?

 

[pdswife]

I alway cut my corn off the cob and then just put a pat of butter on top.

 

[ChefJune]

Here is the thing she got us.

Gotta love it! If my Mother would ever have seen that, I would have one, too!

Growing up in the Midwest, corn on the cob was always a summer delight. I used to put a couple of pats of butter on my plate near the hot corn and let it melt (or get mushy) and then roll the corn in the butter. These days, I jsut melt the butter and put it into a shallow dish and roll the corn in the melted butter. It's a little messy, but so is eating corn on the cob!

 

[BigDog]

1 stick of butter on a plate, and roll the corn through.

Another thing you can do that I've tried and isn't too bad is the "butter" spray, i.e. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. I'm not talking about the butter flavored Pam type spray, though. It worked pretty well, the ICBINB spray.

 

[ChefJune]

Those sprays and "squirts" may work, but imo they taste like cr*p!

 

[rickell]

I have three of them

I usually start with a knife, but the butter soon falls onto the place. I then roll the corn on the butter in the plate. That seems to work pretty well.

My MIL just bought us a little gadget though. It holds a half stick of butter. There is a plunger in the back and it pushes the butter out as you apply it. I think she paid less than a buck for it.

We are in the midwest and yes fresh corn, all the time. I actually grew
corn this year very good. Only bad part was our dog loves corn and he
was pretty determined he would get one everytime we picked it. It is all
gone now. Really good corn I don't think needs butter
just a bit of salt and pepper.

I have three of those gadgets for when we have people over I just
have one in the middle of the table and one on each side of the table.

 

[vagriller]

Those sprays and "squirts" may work, but imo they taste like cr*p!

So you're saying its I Can't Believe its Not Cr*p?

 

[candelbc]

We always melted our butter and applied it with a Pastry brush.. It's very convienent and easy to apply.. I was shocked that no one had mentioned up to this point.

-Brad

 

[GB]

When we used to go up to VT there were roadside stands that cooked corn on the cob. The would wrap the end in tin foil to use as a handle. Then they would plunge the whole thing into a bucket of melter butter. Now that was the best!

 

[Andy M.]

Here is the thing she got us.

We use one of those as well. I prefer rolling the corn on the butter stick but I'm only allowed one stick of deformed butter and I use that for buttering pans.

 

[middie]

Heavily ?? I prefer rolling it on the stick of butter but we use knives.

 

[VegasDramaQueen]

I've tried every method there is and finally my family and I love this one. I melt butter (NOT margarine ) in a ramikin then spread the butter on the cob with a silicone pastry brush. Easy to clean and the brush does a wonderful job of buttering a nice thick layer of butter on the corn. For large gatherings I do 2 or 3 ramikins. If no one at your table objects, you can add salt to the butter and kill 2 birds with one stone. I added parmesan cheese to the butter once and everyone loved it.

 

[AllenOK]

I use those plastic corn trays that hold the cob and any and all juices, along with those plastic two-tine things you stick in the cob for easy handling. I put some margarine on the cob with a knife. It'll melt, and slide off into the bottom of the little plastic tray, then continue to melt. I'll roll the cob through the melted margarine, then eat it.

 

[bethzaring]

during corn season, I keep a stick, deformed, of butter in a covered butter dish. It is hard to use toward the bottom, I usually scrap the butter ridges out and apply a new stick of butter...I will have sweet corn very shortly...

 

[SizzlininIN]

I much prefer this method. Anyone that has not tried is hereby commisioned to do so! I do it as much for the bread as for the buttered corn. What's better than soft bread and butter?

Thats how we grew up doing it and I still find myself doing it. DH came home with some squeezable stuff though on his last trip but I'll stick to my bread. GB a friend of min has one of those gadgets too. It was cool but I'd hate to have to take the time and clean it. With the bread and butter I only have to clean a knife and get the added bonus of the bread and butter in the end.