My poor sweet corn

[Zelenina]

With baby corn you're not supposed to wait for the silks (hairy part) to turn brown, but pick them soon after they start to poke out at the top. With full-size cobs you do wait for them to turn brown, but normally the liquid inside is more of a milky colour when they are right, and they are easy to pierce. They turn tough when they are past their best. Eventually they dry and become completely hard if the weather is right.