By Shane Bevell and Nate Bertasso
shane@newsroom.byu.edu
Everything has its season, and now is the season for corn lovers.
'It's corn season right now,' said Leila Stratton, manager of Stratton's Country Store in Orem.
The best time to purchase corn is the first few weeks of August, said Jud Harward, owner of Harward Farm.
Steve Jackson has seven roadside corn stands in the Provo/Orem area.
Jackson said he has had roadside stands in the area for 10 years.
Business is good this season, Jackson said.
'We have had an above average yield this year,' Harward said.
The crops have been about a week early, Harward said.
Harward said the heat has helped the corn grow more quickly.
'Heat is good as long as you can keep the corn irrigated,' Harward said.
Harward said the corn is not planted all at once, but rather in intervals, so that it's fresh all year long.
Scott Gale of Provo said the roadside stands are convenient for him to stop on the way home from work.
'It is an impulse buy when people buy corn at the roadside stands,' said Emily Neer, associate manager of produce at Albertson's in Provo.
People buy corn at supermarkets because it is convenient when they are already at the store making other purchases, Neer said.
The kernels are more tender, fresher and younger at roadside stands, while the kernels at supermarkets are often mature, tough and not as sweet, Neer said.
'You can't get good corn in the store,' Provo resident Thelma Sharp said while purchasing corn at a roadside stand.
The corn is fresh and of good quality at the roadside stands, Gale said.
'The corn is picked fresh every morning,' Jackson said. 'It is never a day old.'
Rick Bissel, from Neola, Duchesne County, was buying corn at Stratton's Country Store because the corn he bought at a grocery store was 'old and nasty.'
There are a few ways to select good corn, Jackson said.
One way is to see if the ear is developed, Jackson said.
He said if the husk is dried out, then the corn is not fresh.
Another way to select good corn is to pull the husk back and see if there are worms, Jackson said.
Boiling and barbecuing corn are two of the most popular ways to cook corn, Jackson said.
Orem resident Bernadette Clarno disagrees.
'The best way to eat corn is to eat it raw,' Clarno said.
It is the best way to eat it because it is milky, crunchy and sweet, Clarno said.
'Eating it raw is how you know it's good,' Clarno. 'If it's good raw, it will be good cooked.'