Who doesn’t love freshly picked corn-on-the-cob roasted over coals? Pity the poor person who has never had it. The question is often just, what shall we put on the corn when it comes steaming off of the coals? Plain butter? Spices? Aioli? (Aioli became one of my favorite corn condiments last year.) To answer this question a little bit more broadly I consulted one of my favorite books, The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs, by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. Here is what they suggest:

Corn Flavor Affinities
* Corn + bell pepper + jalapeno chili + cilantro + tarragon
* Corn + butter + salt
* Corn + cayenne + lime + salt
* Corn + cilantro

I still also recommend freshly made aioli slathered onto the hot cob. I like the aioli recipe from Alice Waters in her book The Art of Simple Food (Random House, 2007).

–Annie