Top of the summertime favourites, sweet and succulent corn stars in these recipes by Ginny Grant.

Corn, in any form, is always a winner for me. The popularity of this native cereal of the Americas has spread far and wide, partly due to its sheer versatility. You can make flour for tortillas, use the husks for tamales or grind it for grits or polenta. The recipes given here mostly use fresh sweetcorn in a variety of easy-to-prepare dishes. I tend to eat corn straight from the cob with lashings of butter and salt, perhaps with herbs, spices or umami-rich ingredients such as miso or gochujang. I’m a huge fan of using the microwave for this: three minutes per cob (husk and all), sit for a minute, then remove the husks and silks – perfect and easy. Sometimes I’ll cut the cobs into ‘ribs’ for easy eating (although this is not without some risk of injury depending on your knife skills). I’m always curious to see how other people eat their corn: old-school typewriter rows from end to end, perhaps around the circumference, or straight bites in no order at all. Or perhaps like my kids after years of wearing braces, you’re no longer keen on munching from the cob. Frozen corn is a freezer staple for me and you could easily substitute frozen here. Most cobs when shucked will give you around ½ to ¾ cup of kernels. For these recipes I have gone with the larger quantity.