Corn on the cob is an ear of maize served whole, with the kernels still on the central cob, usually boiled, steamed, or grilled and eaten hot with butter and salt. Freshness is everything: sugars begin converting to starch the moment the ear is picked, so the sweetest corn is cooked within hours of harvest. Grilling in the husk steams the kernels while adding smoky notes. It provides carbohydrate, fibre, and B vitamins, with butter adding the indulgence. Eaten with the hands and gnawed along the rows, it is summer food at its most joyful and informal.