When looking for a great ear of sweet corn, feel the cob; check the girth of the cob itself and the tip. A tip that has more girth means the ear of corn has had enough time to mature and the sugars in the kernel are developed. An indicator of freshness is how tight the husk is to the cob – when the cob feels tight in the husk, it usually means the crop was recently harvested and the water content of the kernels is still high. Also check the husk of the ear. Older husks start to brown and typically show a more wrinkled texture.