Superman sweet corn…

I have been working with an old friend and co-worker of mine from way back in the 80s. His name is Dr. David McKenzie and he is the plant breeder responsible for the introduction of the line of Mirai sweet corn varieties. Mirai translates to “taste of the future” in Japanese.

Of the many successful Mirai varieties he has introduced comes a truly unique one…we call it Mr. Mini Mirai. We also consider it to be true “gourmet sweet corn” and let me tell you why:

• It is a yellow supersweet variety that has exceptional sweet flavor and tenderness like no others in its class. The ear is only 5&1/2 to 6” long and has generated a lot of interest from restaurants because it fits on a plate.
• We had several boxes shipped to us from California last week. We have been giving samples out to restaurants and growers in the surrounding Rochester area. I can honestly tell you that everyone who has tried it raved about its eating quality.
• We have had this variety stored in our cooler for 10 days now from the time it was first picked. I sampled one this morning by eating it raw, which is the only way to determine quality sweet corn. The kernels had not dented at all and the sweetness and tenderness remained excellent. Wow, does this variety have staying power.

I will be looking for any 12 of you folks who would be willing to have a free sample of this variety shipped to you for a taste test for us. The only requirement we would ask of you would be to supply us with an honest written opinion of the results of your taste test. If you truly love its quality (which I can guarantee), then a digital photo, along with your opinion would be nice. If you are interested in taste-testing Mr. Mini Mirai, please contact us at: growers@harrisseeds.com.

A very special Sweet Corn program

Our vegetable seed manager, Mark Willis, and I will be working with sweet corn plant breeder Dr. David McKenzie this summer to bring a very special sweet corn program to the Rochester area. Dave is an old friend that originally worked for Harris Seeds back in the 1980s.

Dave has developed a very unique brand of sweet corn called Mirai, which means taste of the future in Japanese. Out of this program came a variety known as the desert corn, or Mirai 003. We call it Mr. Mini Mirai and it is truly fantastic. We sent a box of it last year to a friend in Indiana to have his family and friends sample. It had been sitting in a cooler for over a week, and when our friend tried it, he said it was the best tasting corn he had ever eaten!

We will be selecting some local growers around Rochester to get some of this corn planted. We will be shipping in samples early this summer to have restaurants try it out with their customers. We are fairly convinced that once we get it to the tables of local Rochester residents, it will be a huge hit. It is already very big on the West Coast.

To learn more about this variety, see page 27 of our 2010 Professional Vegetable Growers’ Catalog. You will also find it on page 20 of our current home garden catalog or on our web site.

This will be fun! Please stay tuned...