They say nothing in life is free.
Well, whoever said that should come to Iowa, because we’ve got all the local sweet corn you can eat for ZERO DINERO.
It’s true – this afternoon Ben and I hit up the Adel Sweet Corn Festival boasting, you guessed it, all you can eat free sweet corn!
Set in the quintessential, small-town Iowa town square of Adel, Iowa,
the sweet corn festival celebrates Iowa’s best known crop with a two day festival featuring food, live entertainment, and
lots,
and lots,
of FREE sweet corn!
Does this happen anywhere else in the country?! ;)
The freshly shucked sweet corn is steamed, then rolled down a conveyer belt to a holding tank.
It’s then transferred to serving trough where festival goers line up and request as many ears of corn as they want, as many times as they want. Corn for all!
After you get your corn, you head to one of the many “seasoning stations” that are setup.
Each station is well equipped with pump butter, spray butter, spreadable butter, salt & pepper, toothpicks (crucial) and TONS of paper towels.
I kept it real with some spreadable butter and salt – you really want to let the candy-sweet corn shine through. MMMM!!!!!!
Fresh from the field!
Can we eat now?
Ben and I found a shady spot and assumed the position. Legs spread, body hunched over,
corn in the center.
Roll your cobs around for even butter and salt distribution,
then CHOW!
omg! Crispy, buttery, salty, SWEET! The best corn you’ll ever have!
Now, finishing your corn is awful for two reasons. #1: you don’t have any corn left. #2: you have to get creative with a toothpick. Ew.
Common courtesy says you’ve got to turn your head when picking, too. It’s the right thing to do.
Privacy please?! Haaaahahahaha.
We sat for a little while and agreed that, since it’s free, it’s only right to get a few more ears. :D I sent Ben back for the goods.
He said he was only going to get a couple more ears.
Explain to me how, then, how he came back with…
FIVE more ears?! “They kept putting corn on my plate!” he exclaimed. Uhhhh-huh! Riiight. ;)
Ben put himself into a corn coma at that point.
HA!
You know you’re from Iowa when you nearly pass out from eating too much free sweet corn! ;)
After three ears of corn, I was pretty full – but a $1 bag of kettlecorn was calling my name…so I answered.
It was pretty much the greatest thing ever.
Crunchy, salty, sweet – YUM!
We left Adel in a sweet corn haze, but we’re determined to grill out tonight so we stopped at good ol’ Fareway on the way home to pick up some goods.
Steaks for him (ok me too,)
and a movie for her – Remember Me with Robert Pattinson!! Although, it will be weird seeing him play someone other than Edward.
I’m not quite sure how I convinced Ben to get this, but I’m rolling with it!
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Corinne 08.16.2010
Hahahhahaa, I love that Ben OD’d on corn!! What silly pictures. Did you like Remember Me? I bet you didn’t see THAT ending coming! GAH!!!
Amber 08.16.2010
We hit up the Sweet Corn Festival too!! What a great time AND great corn!
Jen 08.16.2010
haha! you guys are too cute.
I’ve never seen free sweet corn in Kansas, I’ll tell you that much!
Amy 08.15.2010
What a fun day! I totally want to come visit Iowa someday. I’d certainly love the corn! :)
Michelle (The Runner's Plate) 08.15.2010
I went to Concordia College (Moorhead, MN), home of the COBBERS!! (Yes, our mascot was an ear of corn!!) The college will sponsor corn feeds across the upper Midwest (MT, ND, MN, etc.) all summer long. It’s great!!
jassy 08.15.2010
wow…i love sweet corn!!! when i was a kid, we had a small corn farm and we would eat all the sweet corn we could eat. it’s nice that iowa offers free sweet corns!!! :)
Kristie 08.15.2010
Free corn..who can refuse. Looks delicious. How was Remember Me? I have not seen it yet.
Jessie 08.15.2010
Love the Sweet Corn Festival! Missed it this year :( But some days you just have to take one for the team and go ditch riding on 4wheelers for a good cause! Have you ever ran the 5K out there?
Elyssa 08.15.2010
The sweet corn festival sounds like a giant version of my parent’s backyard in the summertime…when I’m “forced” to eat all the fresh-picked, steamed corn for dinner! So delicious! Also, I’m curious to see what you thought about “Remember Me”…I thought the ending was a complete cop-out!
Mimi 08.15.2010
I was seriously craving some good ol’ Nebraska corn when I got back to the states… and this year’s crop didn’t disappoint! So simple and so good!
Elizabeth 08.14.2010
Sounds like a really good day!!
Elizabeth MDS 08.14.2010
Woot, woot! I had sweet corn tonight, also! AND, HOLLA for Fareway! Best grocery prices in the Midwest! :-)
Dawn 08.14.2010
MMMMMmmmmmmm…. The corn is to.die.for this year!
Jessica @ The Process of Healing 08.14.2010
Free corn… can’t go wrong there!!!
emily 08.14.2010
Great movie!!!! I love grilled corn with honey butter!
Tina 08.14.2010
This makes me so happy I bought ears of corn at the store today. Otherwise you would have sparked a craving and sent me back to the store. LOL
erica 08.14.2010
oh my goodness. that is corn heaven!!!