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Cook Fresh Corn on the Cob in Your Microwave

Cook Fresh Corn on the Cob in Your Microwave
Credit: Shutterstock

Summer may be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t eat corn on the cob. In fact, it’s a great way to add a little summery flair to your next meal and make it feel more like a picnic. You can even enjoy fresh corn on the cob at work by covering the corn with wet paper towels and cooking in your microwave.

Culinary weblog Chowhound shares that you can easily cook corn in the microwave by first removing the husk and silk from the corn, wrapping the ear in a wet paper towel, and microwaving it for no more than five minutes. Take it out of the microwave, let the ear cool down and have at it.

Another method takes a bit longer, but may be even simpler. It comes courtesy of a man named Ken in a YouTube video:

In it, Ken recommends putting two ears of corn in the microwave completely unshucked and cooking them for eight minutes. Pull them out (with pot holders or some sort of heat protection), cut off the bottom of the husk, then hold the top of the silks and let the ear slip on out with ease. According to Simply Recipes, this method may produce even tastier corn because it allows the ear to steam in its own juices and absorb the flavor of the husk, “resulting in a wonderful, undiluted corn taste.” Add butter, salt or whatever else you want, and enjoy!

This story was originally published in 2012 and was updated on 11/20/19 to provide more thorough and current information.