July through September is a special time in East Central Illinois--it's when the sweetcorn ripens. Pretty much all the corn-on-the-cob you eat is sweetcorn, but as any serious corn connoisseur knows there are major differences among the ears of corn that you might eat on any given day. That pathetic, bland, starchy slightly chewy corn that you usually get from the grocery store is as far away from a real corn experience as you can be and still be eating the yellow stuff. There is something magical about day-fresh sweetcorn (that's corn that goes from stalk to pot in less than 24 hours). It can be boiled, blanched, roasted or grilled. It requires no butter or salt--the corn itself has a buttery flavor and is a touch salty (it tastes like what we are trying to replicate when we slather butter and salt on third-tier ears). It has a flavor and a texture that is unmatched. In fact, many people who are regularly able to get their hands on day-fresh corn will refuse to eat anything else. In Vermilion County, there's no better place to pick up fresh, locally grown sweetcorn than on of the Lingley Brother's stands that dot the county. These folks will pitch tents in parking lots and sell ears of corn out of the back of pickup trucks. Talk to the guys that are selling the corn--they'll let you know the inside scoop about when and where the corn was picked, when to expect there to be day-fresh corn through (I got to hear the sweetest of all sweetcorn sentences today--"we expect to have fresh until the first hard frost"). And at about $0.25 per ear this is one of the best food deals you will find anywhere. The Lingley Brothers know their corn. Find them at the following locations: Downtown Hoopeston - N. side of Main Street beween Rentway and Loraine Theater 119 Intersection - S. of Rossville at the intersection of IL Rt. 1 and Rt 136 Gutterridge Harley-Davidson - Tilton s. of Danville on IL Rt. 1 (Georgetown Road) Danville Farmers Market - N. of the Courthouse Annex on N. Vermilion in Kresge Park Rantoul - West of shopping area on the second curve by the Rantoul High School Attica/Williamsport - on the corner of 41 and 28 across from Beedles read more