Toasted sweetcorn soup with ginger and coriander

No – while many people like to soak corn-on-the-cob in the husks before grilling in order to add extra moisture and prevent the husks from burning, it’s not necessary for this recipe, particularly as butter and oil are being used to toast the kernels. Excess water should be avoided, as you want the corn to toast rather than poach, boil or steam.

The corn kernels should be toasted, but not burned. While a warm, toastiness adds to the savoury flavour of the soup, you don’t want it to taste like charcoal! Fry the kernels for 2 minutes – you should see them just starting to lightly brown in places. If they are starting to burn then turn the heat down or remove them.

If corn is chewy or tough it has likely been overcooked. Fresh corn can even be eaten raw, so it does not need to be cooked for long. If you’re cooking corn on the cob, rather than toasting the kernels like in this recipe, it’s better to steam it rather than boil it to prevent overcooking.

Fresh corn, like we use in recipes such as this soup, or eat off the cob, contains a lot of moisture and is usually quite soft, meaning the steam formed inside can escape easily. Popcorn is generally made using a different variant of corn, which has particularly small, hard kernels. When heated, steam forms inside and eventually bursts out from the pressure, turning the kernel inside out and resulting in the fluffy snack we are so familiar with.