THE GREAT CANADIAN SUMMER DEBATE: SHOULD YOU SHUCK CORN IN THE GROCERY STORE? 🌽🇨🇦

Every summer, right around the time we start arguing about air conditioning and mosquito spray, another controversial debate pops up in grocery stores across the country:

Is it okay to shuck corn before you buy it?

For some people, peeling back the husk to inspect the kernels is just smart shopping. For others, it's the produce-section equivalent of opening a bag of chips before you've paid for it.

Experts say there's actually a right way to do it.

If the store provides garbage bins beside the corn display, feel free to peel back the husk, but only if you're planning to buy that ear of corn. Nobody wants to come along afterward and discover they've inherited someone else's half-naked cob.

Because let's be honest: nobody has ever looked at a pile of partially shucked corn and thought, "Perfect, I'll take the one that's already been handled by three strangers."

Experts also warn that removing the husk too early isn't great for the corn itself. The leafy wrapper protects the kernels from dirt and helps lock in moisture and sweetness. Once it's peeled back, the corn starts drying out and losing flavour.

RELATED: The Rudest Things People Do At Farmers Markets!

So how can you tell if you're getting a good ear without undressing it in the produce aisle?

• Pick up a few and compare the weight. Heavier usually means juicier.
• Give the cob a gentle squeeze. It should feel firm and full.
• Check the silk at the top. Fresh silk is usually soft and slightly sticky.
• Look for bright green husks that wrap tightly around the corn.

In other words, treat corn the same way you'd judge a watermelon: poke it, inspect it and pretend you know what you're doing.

And if you absolutely must shuck it in the store, remember the golden rule: if you peel it, you purchase it.

Otherwise, you're just creating extra work for the employees and starting a produce-section scandal.

Somewhere, a grocery store worker is already whispering, "Can you believe what they did to the corn aisle?" 🌽🎙️🇨🇦