Canned Corn Vs Fresh Corn: Everything You Need To Know

Corn is a beloved summer staple, found at many a roadside stand. A versatile vegetable, corn lends itself well to a variety of preparations ranging from simple to more technical. When in season, there's perhaps no recipe more rewarding than simply boiling or grilling it, and serving it with butter and salt. But corn is also delicious when rolled in mayo, cheese, and seasonings as for Mexican street food staple elote. In Japan, it's often glazed in miso or soy, while in South America, it may be served raw in fresh salads. Corn can also be cooked into fritters, soups, or cornbread. And that's just the beginning.

American corn is grown chiefly in the Midwest, specifically in Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska, the three top producers in the U.S. But much of the production in these states is of a variety of corn that wouldn't be quite so welcome in the recipes cited above. Indeed, sweet corn stands out as one of six major kinds of corn. Dent corn is used to make processed corn products like corn chips, while flint corn is known for its beautiful colors. Popping corn is a variety of flint corn with a hard outer shell that pops when steam builds up inside. Flour corn is softer and starchier, perfect for making flour. If you're a sweetcorn fan, you may have faced off with the decision: fresh or canned? The answer depends on many factors stemming from the myriad differences between fresh and canned corn.

There's a reason we associate corn on the cob with summertime: It's most bountiful — and most delicious — in the summer months. Depending on where you live, corn season may begin as early as May and last until October, but by and large, it's a crop that's at its best in late summer. Eaten outside of its peak, it will likely be starchy and not nearly as sweet as one might hope ... or you might not be able to find it at the store at all. And that's where the benefits of canned corn come in. 

By definition, canned corn has no season; indeed, like other canned goods, its shelf-stable nature means it's available any time of year — ready to be used in warmer dishes that might not be as welcome in the summer heat, such as corn pudding or rich and creamy corn pasta. It's no wonder that so many home gardeners reap the season's bounty and can their own! But if your thumb isn't green enough to grow your own corn and you're craving the sweet kernels in December, a can of corn from the grocery store is the ideal way to dig in.

While in some cases, canned corn contains exactly the ingredients it says on the label, more often than not, there are other elements added to the can. This includes not just the liquid in the can, which is usually a combination of water and some of the creamy juice from the corn kernels, but also any number of potential ingredients permitted by federal regulations. This includes but is not limited to flavoring agents like salt, MSG, and sugar, and additives that may increase shelf life or improve freshness or texture, such as citric acid or vegetable protein (via Code of Federal Regulations). 

This laundry list of additives only holds true for "plain" corn. There are loads of brands that offer flavored or seasoned canned corn which may contain mint, lemon juice, spices, butter, or even red and green peppers. (By law, the latter two can't comprise more than 3 percent by weight, in the case of butter, or 15 percent by weight, in the case of peppers.) These seasoned corns can be helpful for those trying to get dinner on the table without too much extra work, but for those seeking to avoid additives, it's important to take a look at the ingredients list and inform yourself about what's actually going into that can of corn. When it comes to fresh corn, however, there's no added work to be done: All you'll find within the husk is fresh corn, pure and simple.

Do a quick Google search for canned corn, and don't be surprised if many of the top results are concerned with how to make it taste better. There's no getting around it: Canned corn can taste duller and vary widely in texture as compared to the fresh stuff, with some brands eluding that crisp, toothsome texture so that the resulting corn is mushy, starchy, and far from as full of flavor as fresh. This has to do in part with the way in which it's processed: Since cooking corn transforms its sugars into starches, it dims its flavor. And seeing as canned corn is sitting, tip-cap-less, in a pool of liquid, it's no wonder it can lose some of its crispness.

Of course, this isn't the case for all brands. Some canned corn manages to taste just as good as those nostalgic summer cobs. And should you ever find yourself disappointed by its flavor, there are loads of ingredients to add to canned corn to jazz it up, from soy sauce to bacon grease, and butter to garlic. It may take a bit of added work in the kitchen, but by opting for the best-quality canned corn and taking advantage of just a few added seasonings, you'll soon have canned corn that tastes as good (or nearly!) as the farm-fresh stuff from a summer roadside stand.

In the height of summer, fresh corn may seem cheaper than canned, when it pops up for something around a dollar an ear. But canned corn is still a better value than fresh. The reason comes down to the way it's processed: Fresh corn has a lot of waste material attached to it, from the leaves to the silk to the cob. This reduces the total volume of the food you can actually consume — and what's more, removing it demands hands-on labor and time. 

Researchers took the cost of the waste plus the prep time into account in making their calculations, finding that buying canned corn is a 25% better value over fresh. These findings were confirmed by another study from the USDA, which found that fresh corn costs about $1.17 per cup as compared to $.69 per cup for canned. These findings only further cement canned corn's status as the better value product.

Flint corn, dent corn, and flour corn aside, there are a phenomenal number of varieties within the sweet corn category alone. Aside from the yellow, white, and bicolor categories you'll find in many markets, hybrid corn varieties like Ambrosia hybrid, known for its sweet flavor, or Nirvana hybrid that's known for its beautiful white-and-yellow kernels and high yield. There are even fresh heirloom corn varieties that boast some of the beautiful, bright colors you might know from flint corn, like Blue Hopi, with its gorgeous blue color, or Ruby Queen, which boasts a gorgeous deep red hue and sweet, tender kernels. Both of these varieties, unlike the dried corn you may find used decoratively, can be consumed fresh and may be found at some farmer's markets or can be grown at home.

But when it comes to canned corn, there just aren't that many choices. The USDA recognizes golden, white, or a combination of kernels in canned corn products. These can either be processed using conventional or supersweet methods, the latter of which will result in corn with a higher natural sugar content or a crisper taste. But if you want canned blue corn or a specific variety, you'll need to source, grow, and can it yourself.