It takes a little while for fresh, truly local corn to come to our corner of the world, but it is surely here now, though we have been seeing “fresh” corn from away in the stores for a while. I hesitate to call it fresh because I know it has been for a long ride in a truck, but it is fresher than what we see in February.

We are eating our corn out of the garden, and once we have had our fill of fresh corn on the cob – that usually takes a couple weeks – then I make Corn Oysters, and I treat them as a main dish. They do look a little like fried oysters if you put them next to each other on a plate.

This recipe won’t work with frozen or canned cut corn. It has to be cut off the cob so that the milkiness joins the corn pieces. My original recipe instructed to grate the corn from the cob, and you can do that if you wish, but I have found that if I cut the corn by slicing off the tops of the kernels in one pass, then cutting close to the cob in a second pass, and scraping the cob with the back of the knife at the end, accomplished much the same end. You can deep-fry these, or do as I do, and merely fry them on a griddle with a little oil over the surface of the pan.

Looking for…

Back in July I sent out this query to which there have been no responses, but then you all were on vacation, right? Mike Gleason of Bangor wrote to say “Probably close to twenty years ago, I was reading a book about life in Maine’s woods camps, and food was a prime topic. There was mention of a triple-layer “pie” that was a favorite of the woodsmen. One layer was pork, one was apple, and the third was something else (perhaps potato, perhaps a repeat of the pork or apple). Each layer was separated by a crust, and there was a bottom crust and a top crust. I’ve been searching and asking ever since for a name and recipe, but to no avail. Can you help?”

Now, I looked on the Internet for “Lumberjack Pie” and found a couple of examples, one with a mashed-potato crust, which doesn’t sound right at all, and another with pork and potatoes but only a top and bottom crust and no apples. I’d really welcome a triple-layer honest-to-goodness pie recipe from Maine. Or was the story about this dish one of those bits of “fakelore” we hear about?

Send queries or answers to Sandy Oliver, 1061 Main Road, Islesboro 04848. E-mail: tastebuds@prexar.com. For recipes, tell us where they came from. List ingredients, specify number of servings and do not abbreviate measurements. Include name, address and phone number.

Corn Oysters

Serves four as a side dish

2 cups corn pulp (about two or three ears of corn)

2 eggs, separated

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons of melted butter

salt and pepper

Grate or cut the corn from the cobs and put into a bowl. Beat in the egg yolks, flour, butter, and salt and pepper. Beat the whites in a separate bowl until they form soft peaks, and then fold into the corn mixture. Drop by spoonfuls onto a hot, oiled frying pan or griddle and cook until golden, then turn to brown the other side. Place in oven to keep them warm while you finish frying the whole batch.