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Corn chowder is homey soup that works for any occasion, due to its availability year-round. This simple recipe is packed with flavour, using every part of the corn including the corn cob to infuse flavour into our BamNut Milk Everyday base.
Category
Soup
Corn chowder is homey soup that works for any occasion, due to its availability year-round. This simple recipe is packed with flavour, using every part of the corn including the corn cob to infuse flavour into our BamNut Milk Everyday base.
Corn chowder can almost be considered an alternative to clam chowder if you're not a fan of seafood. This hearty and rich soup feeds the soul in a way a normal light clear soup can’t. This recipe uses fresh sweet corn right off the cob to give it a refreshing, yet intense corn flavour.
You may think that chowder and soup are the same thing, but they actually have quite a few different characteristics.
To simplify it, soup is a liquid made with water or broth. There are many subcategories of soup—it can be clear chicken noodle soup or thick like cream of mushroom or other cream-based soups. Soup can also contain solid ingredients, such as meat or vegetables, or be pureed after combining the ingredients in a blender. If the soup has more chunky ingredients than liquid, it is often referred to as a stew instead of a soup. Soup is also typically served hot, although there are a few exceptions (check out our vichyssoise recipe).
On the other hand, chowders are thick and creamy, and often contain clams and potatoes—clam chowders being the most famous iteration of this. While soups can be thin and light, chowders are characterised by their richness. Similar to stew, it can contain large chunks of meat or vegetables, but regardless of the ingredients used, chowders are almost always creamy. It’s also always served hot!
Eating corn with butter or other high-calorie toppings is definitely not the healthiest way to eat it. However, a plain ear of corn has approximately 100 calories—which is similar to that of an apple. It also has 3 grams of fibre per serving. This means that it will help you feel fuller for longer, so you're less likely to snack more after.
It’s an extremely common misconception that corn is high in sugar. Corn is definitely considered sweet for a vegetable, but there are actually only 6 grams of natural sugar in an average-sized piece of corn. For comparison, a ear of corn has about one-third the sugar of an apple and less than half of a banana.
This myth may have originated due to the confusion over different corn varieties. High-fructose corn syrup, dextrose, glucose and other sweeteners are derived from field corn, which is vastly different from sweet corn, which is harvested earlier. Those highly processed sweeteners are very different the natural sugars found in sweet corn.
It’s true that corn has a large amount of insoluble fibre aka the type of fibre that passes through the body intact. However, this kind of fibre is great for your bowel movements, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Research has shown that insoluble fibre helps feed the good bacteria in your gut.
Staring down a pile of corn at the produce aisle in a supermarket can be pretty daunting if you’re not sure how to pick a good ear of corn. However, we’ve listed a few things to take note of to help you pick a great corn every time.
If you're wondering what corn silk is, it’s the long, thread-like strands that grow out underneath the husk. Younger corn silk is paler in colour, moist and sometimes even sticky. On the other hand, if the silk is black, brown, dried out or matted, the corn is older. So it’s fair to say that the better looking the silk, the fresher and sweeter the corn is.
Next, you’d want to look at the husk. The husk should be bright green and not brown or dried out. They should also not look bruised or overly damaged. You should also refrain from pulling back the husk to look at the corn or pop the kernels, as this will damage the produce if you choose not to purchase it.
To put it simply, you want to pick the heaviest corn. All you have to do is pick up your corn and it should feel heavy for its size. This indicates that it is juicy and the cob itself is full of sap. A lighter cob may indicate that it has started to become starchy and the sap of the cob has stopped feeding the kernels.
In our version, we replace regular milk with our BamNut Milk Everyday. This plant-based milk is made from Bambara groundnuts, making this corn chowder extra creamy, while adding subtle nutty flavour. We also use the whole corn in this recipe—including the cob—to infuse the chowder with a stronger corn flavour.
1 cob of corn
Blend your BamNut Milk Everyday with half of your corn until smooth