I Tested Out All The Popular Tricks To Remove Corn Silk More Easily

Some worked better than others. Lend me your ear and I'll tell you all the deets!

Hey there, I'm Mathew Jedeikin, and I'm super obsessed with cooking hacks.

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Because why spend extra effort to get sub-par results? It totally sucks though, when you waste time and money on something that simply don't work. And it can be hard to tell whether or not a "trick" will achieve said results from beautifully staged photos and YouTube videos.

I'm also a big fan of fresh sweet corn.

Especially when it's is in season here in California.

But one thing I really hate is hassling with corn silk.

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Picking the individual hairs off a beautiful cob is hella annoying, and the silk literally gets all over the place.

So, after deciding there had to be an easier way, I did a little Pinterest research and came up with these five tricks to test.

The first reco I found was to use a regular toothbrush to brush away the hairs.

The second was to use a piece of extra-grip shelf liner to rub off the silk.

The third trick, which actually came from an old episode of the Rachael Ray Show, was to use a rubber band to thread the silk off the corn.

The fourth was to use one of these adorable corn shaped vegetable brushes.

And finally, the fifth trick didn't involve any new products, but is more a method of cooking the corn where you microwave the ear still in the husk. Once cooked, you cut off the end and the corn slides out. Supposedly the silk remains in the husk.

I ordered my supplies and got down to business.

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Operation make preparing corn significantly easier of a task!

When judging each method, this is what I would consider:

1. How easy and effectively did it remove the corn silk?

2. How difficult was the clean-up?

3. Did it affect the taste or texture of the corn when prepared according to my favorite recipe?

One the first night of my three nights in a row of making corn for me and my husband, I tested out the toothbrush.

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The toothbrush itself only cost a dollar, but even at that it was a waste of money. I rubbed that corn up and down with the tiny brush and it didn't seem to do a damn thing.

Next up was the shelf liner, which I used to rub the corn and pull at the silk.

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Jackpot! Not only did the shelf liner pull away most of the silk, but it then held onto it, which made clean-up a breeze. All I had to do was shake the shelf liner out into my compost bag!

Obviously it wasn't perfect, and I did have to use liner to pluck a few stubborn hairs that didn't come right off, but again, they stuck to the liner instead of my hands.

Who would have thought that regular old extra-grip shelf liner could make de-silking an ear of corn so much easier?

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Major victory for corn lovers everywhere!

On day two I put on my favorite pizza hat and tested Rachael's rubber band threading method, to little avail.

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It maybe removed one or two hairs. I'm calling this one a total bust.

Next up was my corn brush, which, although looks cute, didn't do anything.

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In the kitchen I prefer functional to adorable. So yeah, it's a no-go with the fancy corn brush.

Finally, it was time to test this microwave-it-in-the-husk reco.

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I followed the instructions carefully, and microwaved the corn for four minutes. Then, I chopped off the larger end, and squeezed our the ear of corn using a towel (because the horn was legit hot AF).

Although from a distance, it looked like a clean ear of corn had emerged from the husk, upon further inspection there was still lots of silk stuck to the corn.

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Not only that, but there was silk all over the inside of my microwave. Looks can be deceiving y'all, and this so-called trick was a total let down.

Also, I didn't really like the way the microwave cooked the corn.

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I'm a picky eater, and when I make corn I don't like it over cooked. I prefer to lightly blanche my corn in boiling water for three minutes, then drop it right into an ice bath. So, I honestly didn't enjoy the texture of the corn that'd been cooked for four minutes in the microwave, but hey, maybe that's just me.

Throughout these later tests, I found myself using my now trusted shelf liner to finish removing the silk.

Because yeah, it actually cleaned the corn!

In conclusion:

Don't waste money on fancy brushes or a container of clean rubber bands.

Do get yourself some extra grip shelf liner if you're looking for a pain-free way to remove corn silk.

Enjoy this article? Follow me on Instagram and Snapchat (@MathewJedeikin) for additional food tricks, recipes, and more.

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And by “more,” I mean pictures of my dog and cat.