Although I grew up in the Midwest, and our dad took our family when we were kids (and on occasion as adults!) to the Sun Prairie, Wisconsin corn festival to eat roasted corn on the cob, I really did not know what fresh sweet corn tasted like until I had it from my mother-in-law’s garden. The first time I ate at her house, she put a big pot of water on to boil, went out to her garden and picked the corn, shucked it in two shakes of a lambs’ tail, and plopped it in the boiling water; a few minutes later we devoured it. It was so, so sweet and I asked her if she had put sugar in the water to give it that flavor. She denied it, but I just was not sure. Later, she gave me some frozen corn she had “put up” for the winter, and again, I was sure she had added sugar, it was just that sweet. Slowly, I became convinced that it was, in fact, the sugary goodness of the fresh picked corn.
Since then, every summer, we try to find fresh-picked sweet corn. We look for the first road signs that our favorite corn farmer puts out near his fields pointing the way to the corn. 
“The corn is ready” we tell everyone and then make a dash to go get it. The farmer’s kids sell it in front of their house, and the story is that the sales of the sweet corn has paid for all of the children in that family to go to college.
This year, as we went to purchase our corn, we saw the family out in the fields picking the corn, and bringing it to the front yard of the house to sell….it just does not get any fresher than that! That corn was just as sweet as my mother-in-law’s, and we enjoyed the memories that this sweet corn evoked.
I made a sweet corn custard pie as a way to continue to savor the sugary goodness of the last of our Indiana sweet corn for this season. 
The flavor of the pie comes from ……..corn. Oh, and yes, in a corn custard pie it is ok to add a bit of sugar, even though as I tasted the corn kernels as I was cutting them from the cob, they were very sweet.
People to know:
*Your local farmers who raise the sweet, sweet corn for you.
Places to visit:
*Farmers and farmer’s markets selling the farm fresh sweet corn.
Pies to make:
* Sweet corn custard pie. Although having a slice of a “sweet corn pie” at first did not sound so tasty, this pie actually is now at the top of my list of favorite pies. The custard carries the flavor of the corn as the mashed corn kernels mixed with milk and cream permeate the filling. We enjoyed this pie with a glass of Prosecco and toasted the farmers.
- Crust
- Make a crust for a single crust pie; prebake the crust before filling it
- Filling
- 3 cups fresh sweet corn kernels (from 4 to 5 ears of corn)
- 2 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1¼ cups whole milk
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons stone-ground yellow cornmeal
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- 3 large eggs
- 1 yolk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
- Combine the corn with the vegetable oil on the prepared baking sheet and roast until the corn is caramelized, 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to burn. In a blender (or using an immersion blender), combine the hot roasted corn, heavy cream, and whole milk, and puree. Allow the mixture to steep for at least 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
- Meanwhile, combine the melted butter with the sugar, cornmeal, salt and corn syrup, and stir to combine. Stir in the eggs and yolk one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the lime juice.
- Position a fine-mesh sieve so it rests on the edges of a steady bowl. Pour the corn mixture into the sieve and press with a spatula to remove the liquid. Continue to stir and press the corn until all the liquid is removed; there should be about 1 cup of yellow liquid with some small bits of corn throughout. Combine the liquid with the rest of the filling. Discard the corn.
- Place the prebaked pie shell on a rimmed baking sheet, pour in the filling and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, rotating 180 degrees when the edges start to set, 30 to 35 minutes through baking. The pie is finished when the edges are set and puffed slightly and the center is no longer liquid but still quite wobbly. Be careful not to overbake or the custard can separate. The filling will continue to cook and set after the pie is removed from the oven. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack, 2 to 3 hours. Serve slightly warm, at room temperature, or cool.
- The pie will keep refrigerated for 2 days or at room temperature for 1 day
