This corn spoonbread has a delicious puddinglike richness

The Southern staple known as spoonbread - a particular specialty of Kentucky and Virginia - is a Native American dish adopted early on by America's earliest European settlers. George Washington happened to be a big fan and often served it up at Mount Vernon, Virginia. I love it because of its puddinglike richness, a creamy, airy cross between cornbread and a souffle. Creating that airiness is a matter of separating the eggs and beating the whites, then folding them into the batter.

The recipe's key ingredient is corn, and since this is the height of the fresh corn season, I decided to amp up the traditional recipe with corn kernels. Half of them are pureed - adding to the bread's creaminess - while the remainder is folded in for crunch.

What should you look for when buying fresh corn? Start by confirming that each ear is full and thick, with kernels growing all the way to the tip. The easiest way to do so would be to strip away the husk and take a squint at the tip, but that maneuver makes the ear unsellable. Instead, use your fingers to feel if the ear is full at the top by pressing the tip through the husk. And if you discover a tiny bug on the ear after shucking it at home, just wash it away, secure in the knowledge that no pesticides were used in the corn's cultivation.

Some varieties of corn sold at the market will stay sweet for four or five days. I prefer regular corn because it tastes more like corn to me, but its sugar starts to turn to starch as soon as it's picked, which means it's best to cook the corn as soon as you can (keep it chilled until you do).

I call for fine cornmeal in this recipe for Fresh Corn Spoonbread with Sharp Cheddar and Chiles, but you're welcome to use the medium-ground variety if you want a bit of gritty crunch. The buttermilk provides some tangy contrast to the corn's sweetness, but if you're no fan of tang (or don't want to buy buttermilk), substitute regular whole milk.

• Sara Moulton is host of public television's "Sara's Weeknight Meals." She was executive chef at Gourmet magazine for nearly 25 years and spent a decade hosting several Food Network shows including "Cooking Live." Her latest cookbook is "HomeCooking 101."