Corn (terminology) question

[Henrik]

Morning all!

I’m a big fan of corn, and eat it any time I can. However, I’m confused as to what you native English speakers call it. Corn on the cob I get. But sometimes it is referred to as ‘ear of corn’? I don’t get it. Is it the same as corn on the cob? If so, what does the ‘ear’ refer to?

Please enlighten a lowly Swedish pit master :-)

[HouseHomey]

An ear I’m sure there’s a definition for but maybe its the way it grows. An ear is a single "corn on the cob. 🤷"♂️🤷‍♂️

[FireMan]

Vs. a double corn on the cob?

[HouseHomey]

[Henrik]

Excellent, thanks!

[Mosca]

It’s an ear of corn on the cob. The part that’s left after you eat it is a cob.

”How many ears of corn do we need?”

"Tonight we’ll have corn on the cob."

[AdequateEatin]

The "ear of corn" is referring to corn with the husk still on, or really the top part of the corn stock. Where as "corn on the cob" refers to the corn without the husk, more often then not, the cooked corn. Hope this helps clear up you confusion!

[Henrik]

I like the distinction between ear of corn vs corn on the cob. Thanks!

[Ahumadora]

Henrik. Don't sweat it. I am native. English speaker and didn't know that till I read it just above.

[Steve R.]

The "ear" is the part of the corn plant that we eat. "On the cob" is one way we eat that ear of corn. If that makes sense.

[Jerod Broussard]

I'm aMAIZEd you asked about corn. Reading the posts I decided to just play it by EAR for some reason. I have some corn in the freezer I need to whip and then floss for 3 hours.

[Elton's BBQ]

Now i also have learned something!

[Mr. Bones]

Ear of Corn is also used as a unit of measure; related to bushel, or peck, etc.

At least, hereabouts

[FireMan]

They also use bushel or a peck in a song, but no ear der, just sayin ya know.

[bbqLuv]

It might sound corny but, Corned Beef is not make with corn or the cob, is it? No one calls it an Ear of Corned beef or Corned beef on the Cob, do they?

[Huskee]

That's one of those things where I had think and came to the conclusion "Huh. I have no idea why we say ear of corn. We just do."

I only maybe 10yrs ago learned why "corned" beef is called corned. Spiced. And I speak English. Not necessarily well, admittedly.

There's lots of sayings in English, most are common idioms but not all, that make little sense. For instance "They'll sell like hotcakes." As long as I've lived and the places I've traveled I've never seen a hotcake stand. And if they sell so well, why don't people just sell them instead of venturing into other businesses?

[Mr. Bones]

Hmmm...
Good questions have been raised, that deserve answers...
I always jus figgered I got there too late, an th Hotcakes was done already sold plumb th eff out...

[zzdocxx]

Pondering the great questions in life, it's all here on Amazing Ribs.

[ScottyC13]

Huskee, two excellent books on this subject are by Bill Bryson

The Mother Tongue - English And How It Got That Way

And

Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States

They both are fun reads and answer a lot of whys about English. He goes into the origins of many words and phrases and even place names.

[IowaGirl]

Native Iowan here ... an ear of corn is the combination of the cob, the kernels, and the husk (outer covering). The ear is the thing that is picked from the stalk of the corn plant. After husking the ear to remove the outer covering and removing the silk from the tip, I'm left with a husked ear of corn, meaning the kernels plus cob.

I can cut or eat the kernels off the cob. When I'm done removing the kernels, I'm left with the cob. Many people will say "corn on the cob" to mean the husked ear of sweet corn. (But this phrase is not normally used to describe a husked ear of field corn.)

Or they will say "cob" as a shorthand name for the husked ear of sweet corn -- "Junior, how many cobs you wanna eat?" But again this only applies to sweet corn, not field corn.

[FireMan]

And when ya eat the corn ya have an earless cob.

[IowaGirl]

Oh, and another bit of corny lingo that many people don't know is "stover". Stover is the leaves, tassel, stalk, etc. -- what's left of the dying or dead corn plant after the ears have been harvested.

[Sweaty Paul]

And also as a native Iowan I will state Iowa has some of the best sweet corn ever. Miss it.

[Mr. Bones]

"An 8-inch ear of corn contains about 0.50 lb equivalent of shelled corn grain; therefore, 112 8-inch ears would equal 1 bushel" (1 bushel = 56 pounds).

Aaron Berger, University of Nebraska - Lincoln...

Unit of measure

[Mr. Bones]

FireMan fer full Enjoyment, go all kinda Ol Skool, with an original full 16 oz'er...
Fits th ol skool groin much mo perfeckly, in my considered (ouch) experience lol

[FireMan]

It’s my recent xperience that the some miffigers are shrewdly cuttin back an oz.

[Mr. Bones]

While I dislike th current practice of downsizin stuff, on accounta cause it effs with my longtime receipts, certain parts of my body find soothin solace in such practices, Brother.
FireMan

[HouseHomey]

FireMan those will be Wabbit ears.

[USMCCrashCrew89]

Since we’re sharing corn knowledge and being from the Midwest/working in farming I gotta throw some more random knowledge out there.

By multiplying the number of rows of corn on the cob (around the cob) by the number kernels in length, then multiplying that by the number of ears you have on stalks in 1/1000 of an acre, then dividing by 90 you get a rough idea of the yield potential for your field.

Also as a Midwesterner, I’m contractually obligated to mention detasseling.

[Dadof3Illinois]

IowaGirl we would bale straw after winter wheat was harvested the walk the bean rows cutting out the corn and weeds with a corn machete. Then would bale hay in the late summer and walk the corn fields after harvest picking up any stray ears the combine left behind!!! We always had something to do!!

[Mr. Bones]

IowaGirl Lol definitely did usedta detassel corn, as well as git farmed out to th neighbours to buck hay, fer a few cents murrican, per bale.
Good Times, Sister!
Right up there, fun times wise, with snappin several pickup loads of snap beans, to prep em fer cannin...

[ComfortablyNumb]

I detasseled piglets, even posted pics here on AR. But I'm sure that's not what you were talking about!