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Thursday, August 21, 2008

Corn Fritters ~ A Summertime Treat


It's time for a Thursday Food Fest again, sponsored by A Way To Garden and Dinner Tonight. Today's star is the sweetest of the sweet corn, that yummy summertime treat.

Growing up on the farm, I never had store bought corn, probably until I went to college. We would feast on corn on the cob when it started coming in late July, and since my Dad and Grandfather stagger planted, (several rows every week or two) and planted a couple of varieties, we had it fresh for over a month. The first variety to come in was always the Butter and Sugar corn and the Silver Queen was always the last one, but was the favorite of many. With all this corn, we would spend several days freezing huge batches. We would freeze enough for us to have corn once a week for the entire year. With ten people to feed, that's a lot of corn.

One of the things my Mom would make with leftover corn on the cob was corn fritters. These were always a special treat and we could have eaten just this for dinner. I'll be making these later today, so I will post some pictures then. I hope you enjoy these. Please let me know how you like them.

CORN FRITTERS
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup milk
2 cups fresh cut corn
1 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
1 TBS melted bacon fat or melted butter

Mix egg, milk, and corn.
Sift dry ingredients and add to corn mixture.
Add bacon fat (or butter) and beat until well blended.
Coat pan (non-stick or cast iron would work best) with bacon fat or butter.
Drop by tablespoons into pan and cook until golden brown, turning once.
Drain on absorbent paper.

My Mom cooked them in a cast iron skillet and flipped them to cook on both sides.


16 comments:

Eve said...

What pretty corn. We had corn fritters a lot when I was growing up. We didn't live far from a farm so each year we would drive out and get a "mess" as Mama called it, several times a week during corn season. She would just slice it from the cob and fry it with with some salt and pepper. It was so creamy and good.

DP Nguyen said...

That is a very pretty corn photo. I love that you grew up on a farm. What a wonderful memory, so pleasant. I always wanted to live on a farm in the US, but I am a city girl here. In Vietnam (where i was born), my parents have a farm with cows, chickens, and mango trees. LoL.

That recipe sounds good!

Cindy said...

Eve ~ Yum, that sounds so good. Sometimes the simplest of preparations are the best.

DP ~ I love hearing about your Vietnamese roots. I think it would be great to have mango trees.
My parents farm is a dairy farm - lots of cows, although they have crops as well. Originally (before I was born) my Grandparents raised chickens and my Grandfather would take the eggs into town to sell. Now, that's going way back.

tina said...

I bet these are even better than the zucchini cakes. Might have to give it a try soon, but no corn in my garden:(

Cindy said...

Tina ~ While I was making them tonight, it really reminded me of the zucchini cakes. Very similar indeed. My corn is not from my garden, but they were still good. They turned out thicker than I remember. Maybe I should have used more milk to make them more pancake like. If I make them again, I might try that.

Gail said...

Delicious! Hey, Eve's mom fixed corn similar to the way I like to, just cut the corn off a fresh cob and saute lightly in a bit of olive oil and butter...so good and simple, too!

Marie said...

Hi Cindy - I know I used to fry the corn fritters in bacon grease or butter but now I would probably try using light olive oil for a healthier alternative. Remember how I always cut the kernals short and then scraped the ears thoroughly. It makes a creamier corn and probably more moisture in the recipe.
Eve and Cindy - I think I need to try Eve's recipe. I did that a few times sauteing some onions and green peppers and people liked that also, except Daddy who does not like peppers at all.

Cindy said...

Hi Mom! I'm so excited you left a comment. Yes, I don't think anyone uses bacon fat anymore. I should have put that in the post, about the light olive oil. That is what I used to fry them when I made them last night.
And I think I will have to try Eve and Gail's way as well. Mom, you will just have to make Daddy a special batch, without the peppers.
~Cindy

Anonymous said...

What a great memory. I ate corn fritters all my life growing up in Oklahoma. Thanks again.~~Dee

Cindy said...

Dee ~ That's real corn country out there. I bet you have a good recipe for them.

Mother Nature said...

Yum. Let's eat.

Wendy Christensen said...

This sounds yummy - thanks for the corn-inspiration!! :)

Anonymous said...

I just checked back on the recipe because the batter is so thick. I guess I'll add more milk and hope it works out. When you say fresh corn, you mean raw corn, don't you? Or do you mean freshly cooked corn on the cob? I'll let you know how it turns out.

diana

Cindy said...

Diana ~ I'm so sorry for the confusion. I use cooked corn, cut off the cob. My batter was thick too. I added some pictures to the post. I thought it could use some more milk, but I didn't add it this time, I made them thick. Please let me know how it turns out.

Anonymous said...

The corn was pretty crunchy in my fritters so I put them in a 200 degree oven while I made tabbouleh, beans with garlic, lemon zest and a few broccoli florets. The fritters were perfect with our garden veggie supper. Thanks for the recipe, next time I'll use cooked corn:). I'm also going to try adding fresh herbs next time I make the fritters.

diana

Cindy said...

Diana ~ That veggie supper sounds great. Let me know the next time and I'll be over - LOL.
Adding some fresh herbs to the fritters sounds like a great addition to me. It would punch up the flavor a bit.
Cindy