Good Stuff NW - New Favorite Condiment: Southern-Style Fermented Corn

Love those pickled onions you get at your favorite Mexican place? How about an escabeche of jalapeños and carrots? Well, I've got a new favorite condiment to lavish on tacos and in burritos, or to scatter with abandon on egg dishes.

This batch had garlic and habanada peppers, but feel free to do your own thing!

I first heard about fermented corn from my friend Hank Shaw, who ran across it in a book titled "Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes" by Ronni Lundy. Smacking my head because—duh—it's an obvious, not to mention dead simple way to preserve fresh corn. It's a classic Southern condiment called "sour corn," often served with beans after warming in bacon fat, according to Garden & Gun, and probably originated with Indigenous cooks, who "still serve a soured corn drink to respected visitors and wedding guests."

All you need is corn kernels sheared from their cobs, salt and water. I add cloves of garlic and a hot pepper or two, and this year I fermented one batch with habanada peppers, a new variety that has all the fruity flavor of the fiery orange habaneros but packs none of the heat.

Southern-Style Fermented Corn

For the brine*:
4.2g (1.4 oz.) sea salt
1 qt. water

For the fermented corn:
4-5 ears of sweet corn
4 cloves peeled garlic (optional)
2-3 hot peppers, halved (optional)

Add sea salt to the water and stir until salt is completely dissolved. Set aside.

With a sharp knife, cut kernels from ears of corn. (I break or cut my ears in half crosswise, then place the half-ear cut-side down on the cutting board. Then, starting at the top, slice down the cob as close to the core as possible.)

Pack kernels in a quart jar, leaving 1" of space at the top. Add garlic cloves and peppers, pushing them down into the kernels with a chopstick.

Pour the brine into the jar to cover the kernels, poking the chopstick into the kernels in two or three places to release any air bubbles. Place a fermenting weight (you can also use a zip-lock bag with water in it) on top of the kernels to keep them submerged during fermentation. Place a lid on top but do not seal it tightly—you want the brine to be able to bubble out during fermentation—and place the jar in a dish to catch any overflow.

Store in a cool, dry place for at least five days or longer, until corn is nicely sour when tasted. If mold forms on top, simple remove it and discard. Your corn will not be affected.

* If you want to do a larger batch, you can find the ratio of salt to water for 4.25% brine with this handy brine calculator.