My sister has been bringing Cope’s Corn to our Thanksgiving dinners for many years. She lives in the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country whereJohn Cope’s Fancy Evaporated Golden Sweet Corn is readily available on supermarket shelves.
They also package a Toasted Dried Sweet Corn, used in creamed corn and corn pudding recipes, which we’ve yet to try.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving we opt to add the sugar, butter, salt and cream.. it’s the only time of the year we eat this regional side dish, which is little known outside of Lancaster County.
Here’s a little history…
“Martin Cope made his first batch in 1900, and despite a conspicuous lack of notoriety the company is still doing it now as they were then. They buy corn only during the height of the season, when the sugars are at their highest. Quick to the drier—like olives for oil, one key is to get the corn into production right after picking, before its sugars start turning to starches. The drying caramelizes the natural sugars in the corn, lending a subtle, sweet flavor that’s so pleasing you’ll want to eat it right out of the tin. Anything you make with fresh corn is fair game for Cope’s dried sweet corn.”
Online I found several references to this little known Pennsylvania Dutch favorite by various food bloggers.
Here’s what one had to say…
”…there’s exactly one brand of dried corn available for grocery-store purchase, and that’s John Cope’s. Cope’s—located in Lancaster County, the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country—has been making and selling dried sweet corn for more than a hundred years. If your grocery doesn’t happen to stock it, you can mail-order it from a number of sources, including Amazon.com, Farm Stand Foods (www.farmstandfoods.com), and Zingerman’s (www.zingermans.com).“
And Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley food writer Diane Stoneback tells those of us who weren’t raised with dried corn how to make it part of the Thanksgiving feast…
“Just top a serving of plain mashed potatoes with a spoonful of creamed dried corn and you can skip the butter. Let the corn’s ‘gravy’ mix in with bread stuffing for a special treat.”
And speaking from experience, that is very good advice…next Thanksgiving I suggest you track down some Cope’s corn for your dinner.
Before I close this post, I’ll leave you with a recipe from Gourmet Magazine for a Corn Pudding using none other than Cope’s Toasted Dried Sweet Corn…
Gourmet Magazine’s Toasted Sweet Corn Pudding (Gourmet, November 2009)
1 7.5-oz. pkg Cope’s toasted dried sweet corn
4 cups whole milk
1 cup well-shaken fresh buttermilk (not powdered)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper
Preheat oven to 350 with rack in upper third. Butter a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Whisk together all ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer to baking dish. Bake until pudding is set, 1 to 1 ¼ hours. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Note: Corn pudding can be made 3 hours ahead. Reheat, covered, in a 300-degree oven.
We may have to try this next year!