I want to make corn on the cob in a Crock Pot, but have no idea how. It will be for a luncheon at work where no stove is available to cook it or keep it warm.

 We cannot be very encouraging. We have heard a few people gush about their slow-cooker-cooked corn on the cob — after two , three, or even four hours — but we suspect most people will be disappointed by long-cooked, and quite likely, overcooked corn.

As mentioned in All Slow Cookers Are Not Created Equal, all slow cookers are just not created equal. The fancy, large, relatively expensive KitchenAid slow cooker is able to generate a temperature of 212°F (100°C), which might be great for cooking corn. Many slow cookers specialize in getting food to a temperature of 165°F (74°C) but not much higher, which is pretty low for cooking corn.

One recipe we found suggests removing the silks but not the husks, standing the corn on end in the slow cooker, adding a half cup of water, putting the lid on, and essentially warming the corn for two to three hours. The problem is, many slow cookers have the heating element(s) up the side of the pot, so they need to be full of food in order to transfer heat to the contents of the pot. Unless you know that the heating element is at the bottom of the pot, don't try to cook corn with a half-cup of water.

Even if you have a powerful slow cooker, fill it half-full of water, and actually get it to a high simmer or even a boil after an hour and a half or two hours, adding the corn will lower the water temperature substantially and the corn will have to sit in that hot water for much longer than it would if there were a stovetop burner that could quickly get the water back to a boil. It would take at least a half hour to cook, and quite possibly more than an hour. They don't call them slow cookers for nothing....

Do you not have access to a microwave oven? Most offices have a microwave, and it is one of our favorite ways to cook corn. (Probably somebody already claimed the microwave to heat up Cheez-Whiz or something, right? Why not let them use the Crock Pot for that while you cook the corn in the microwave?)

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