Mrs. Macculloch’s Corn Fritters

Celebrate National Fruit and Vegetable Month with a delicious recipe for corn fritters from Louisa Macculloch’s 19^th-century cookbook. Sweet jersey corn will be out before you know it. If you’re looking for an alternative to corn on the cob, this recipe may be your answer.  Enjoy it all summer long!

More than 50 million pounds of sweet corn is harvested in New Jersey every year.  The variety that grows best in New Jersey’s soil is a hybrid called Silver Queen. Known for its milky-white, small kernels, this hybrid slows the conversion of sugar into starch until after it is picked, resulting in sweeter corn. The corn is ready to be picked about 18 to 24 days after the first silk appears.

Mrs. Macculloch’s corn fritter recipe is one of more than 150 recipes included in the cookbook belonging to Louisa Macculloch (1785-1863).

According to the garden journal kept by her husband George Macculloch (1775-1858), in 1839 the Macculloch’s grew nearly 4 acres of corn on their 26-acre farm. With multiple plantings, the corn was harvested until October 10th that year. Macculloch valued the 1839 corn crop at $106.87.

Corn fritters are often thought of as a dish from the southern states. This recipe in Louisa Macculloch’s cookbook may date to the time when there was boarding school at Macculloch Hall and many of the students came from the south.

Corn Fritters
To a quart of scraped corn, add a tea cup of wheat flour, two beaten eggs and milk to make a thin batter.

Adapted Corn Fritter Recipe
2 eggs
½ cup flour
¼ cup milk
2 cups fresh corn (cut from cob)
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut corn from 3 ears of corn and set aside. Beat two eggs, add ¼ cup milk, ½ cup flour, and salt and pepper. Once combined, add corn to mixture. Heat pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of oil. Once the oil is heated, pour a spoonful of corn mixture in the pan, about 2-3 inches wide. Serve hot with butter.

Resources:

Modern tastes might enjoy a spicier corn fritter. Try the recipe from thekitchn.com or dinneratthezoo.com.

Learn some corn fritter fun facts at mobile-cuisine.com.