Sweetcorn is the immature, sugar-rich ear of Zea mays, picked at the "milk stage" when the kernels are plump, pale-gold and burst with sweet, milky juice. Eaten on the cob, off the cob, boiled, grilled or raw, it is one of the few grains the world treats as a vegetable — sweet, juicy and grassy fresh, nutty and caramelized once fire touches it.