Visual Cues Your Corn Casserole Is Done Cooking - Tasting Table (2024)

Cook

Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock

ByKatherine Beck/Jan. 14, 2023 11:30 am EST

Cooking is a feast of the senses. The color of the vegetables as they are chopped. The smell of food baking in the oven. The taste of the savory, sweet, or salty food in your mouth. And using your senses can help you to cook better.

When it comes to cooking with the sense of smell, be aware of any changes in the aroma of what's cooking, advises HuffPost. This often signifies that it's time to begin the next recipe step. The scent of something can also tell if it's fresh, as with meat or seafood. Don't be afraid to use your hands to touch food, such as steak, to determine if it is done. Sight is very important when cooking, per The Washington Post. For example, look for onions turning translucent as they are sautéed in oil or a golden-brown crust on a pizza in the oven signifying it's crispy and ready to be taken out. And using the sense of taste shouldn't only be done at the end of the cooking process. Ingredients and pots of food that are simmering on the burner should all be tasted during the cooking process for flavor.

Using your senses is also important when it comes to determining if your corn casserole is ready to come out of the oven.

Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock

With both sweet and savory varieties, corn casserole recipesare often used for holiday meals such as Thanksgiving. But corn casserole can be a great side dish to any meal, any time of year. Ingredients include creamed corn, canned corn kernels, sour cream, butter, mayonnaise, and cornbread mix. When combined in a bowl, the batter is like a chunky soup or pudding, but the finished product is more like cooked cornbread. So how do you make sure that the corn casserole is done through with no undercooked spots? The answer is to make use of your senses — in particular, your sense of sight.

After baking your corn casserole in the oven at 350 F for about 45 to 50 minutes, look for visual cues to determine if the casserole is done, advises Five Boys Baker. A finished casserole with be slightly brown. And when corn casserole is done, it should not jiggle when moved.The lack of a jiggle is a sign that the center is set, but the casserole will still be moist on the inside, per Taste of Home. You'll also want to look for cracks on the top of the casserole for a perfectly baked and satisfying corn casserole.