St. Charles Farmers Market has 'the corn'

Shoppers of Randy Book's booth at the St. Charles Farmers Market buy a variety of produce, such as melons and tomatoes, but they largely come for one thing: the ears of sweet corn packaged in green mesh bags.

"Is this the corn?" they will ask.

They don't have to explain they are looking for Mirai, a sweet corn that can be eaten raw. Book knows what they are after.

"Yeah," he will reply. "This is the corn."

Developed by Twin Garden Farms of Harvard, Mirai sweet corn is sold weekly in about 80 farmers markets, including those in and near the Tri-Cities. The bulk of the markets are in the Chicago area, but the corn is also sold in the Quad Cities and Dubuque, Iowa, said Gary Pack, a partner with the farm and grandson of its founders.

Mirai – pronounced mee-rye – was created in 1994 as the family-owned farm searched for a hybrid corn resistant to a disease, Pack said. He explained it combines three sweet corn genes and is not genetically modified. Little starch is contained in the seed, making it difficult to grow, he said.

Twin Garden Farms initially sold the seed to growers in Japan, hence the Japanese name, Pack said. Seven years ago, he said, the farm decided it better "walk the walk" and sell ears of Mirai after fielding calls from other farmers saying they had difficulty growing the seed.

Pack said its popularity blossomed after being featured in newspapers and on radio talk shows.

"Before long we had people driving 100 miles to buy it," he said.

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Book stayed busy Friday morning restocking his Mirai tabletop display as nearly all of his customers included at least one bag in their purchase. At 230 bags of corn, or about 115 dozen ears, St. Charles isn't his best market for Mirai, he said; he has brought about 1,400 bags – about 700 dozen ears – in places like the Allstate Arena, he said.

Campton Hills Farmers Market vendor Susan Ericson brought a much smaller sweet corn inventory to her booth Saturday morning. She hoped to sell five dozen ears of a local farmer's crop, she said.

Her corn was priced at $4 per dozen. Meanwhile, the Mirai corn across from her cost $4 for half a dozen and $7 for a dozen.

Ericson, who also sells other produce and non-food items, acknowledged Twin Garden Farms has built a brand and a following but said she doesn't consider herself in competition with them. Rather, she said, the variety of vendors helps bring more people to the market.

"It's small," Ericson said, "but the people here are very supportive of each other."

Pack said Twin Garden Farms doesn't intend to hurt other farmers. His family aims to be an asset to farmers markets and, if having Mirai at one market means taking someone else's spot, the family will not accept the space, he said.

He noted other farmers can grow and sell Mirai; Twin Garden Farms sells its seed. However, he said, his family knows how to grow it right.

"Other farmers grow Mirai," Pack said, "but a lot of people pass up their corn and come to us."

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Vendors at the St. Charles and Campton Hills farmers markets offer free ears of Mirai to those who haven't tried it. Mike Schif of Campton Hills said he was doubtful last year when he was offered a taste of the raw corn.

But, he said, "it just tastes like cooked corn."

Now a loyal customer, Schif buys Mirai each week and even picked up some for a neighbor.

"I miss it in the off-season," he said.

Some, like the Ulaszek family, will make a special effort to get Mirai. The Campton Hills Farmers Market didn't have a Twin Garden Farms vendor in the last two years, so village resident Rob Ulaszek and his family would drive to a market that did, he said.

Ulaszek, a self-described corn snob, said Mirai is the corn that best compares to the sweet corn his childhood neighbor would grow in Wisconsin.

"It's like eating candy," said his wife, Lisel. "It's really sweet."

For D'Ann Hamm, who lives west of Campton Hills, the sweet corn brings her back to her childhood.

"It reminds me of corn I used to get right out of the field as a kid," she said, purchasing a dozen ears.

In the four years he has sold Mirai for Twin Garden Farms, Book said he has heard countless stories about people's experiences with the corn and tales of customers telling friends and family about the food.

"People feel like they cannot not talk about it," Book said. "If we shared our faith like people shared this corn, we'd change the world."

Mirai sweet corn facts

• Grown on 100 acres in Harvard

• Name means "the future is almost here" and "taste" in Japanese.

• Combines three types of sweet corn: super sweet (SH2), sugar extenders (SE) and normal sugary (SU).

• Created through natural selection, not genetic modification.

• Holds its quality for 10 to 14 days if stored in refrigeration.

• Season will last until frost.

Source: Twin Garden Farms