How I freeze big batches of sweet corn

by Aimee

For some time now, Clara has been passionately into everything and anything that captures her big brothers’ attentions. In her opinion, they’ve hung the moon and stars and she wants to be just like them.

So she plays LEGO, learns to balance on logs and ‘fences’ with sticks. She chases the soccer ball and dances with abandon to this hit song. It’s cool – if Noah and Mateo think so.

Rewind to July and a big summer picnic we attended. There was a corn shucking contest for the kids, with some tantalizing surprises; Noah and Mateo were all in. Clara witnessed it all from the sidelines as husks flew and cobs piled up. Her brothers didn’t win anything that day, but something was firmly fixed in Clara’s brain: corn shucking was a sport to practice with abandon.

For the remainer of the summer, Clara has prepped all of our corn. Standing barefoot in the grass or perched at her picnic table, our wispy-haired two-year-old tears into the cobs and doesn’t stop until it’s ready for the pot. Of course, it’s more fun with friends, but heaven forbid mama tries to help.

A recent preserving project recently tested her stamina, though. She ploughed through nearly 2 dozen ears before I started feeling guilty and called her brothers in to help. And I made them clean up the husks and pile them on the compost.

I know I’ve talked about freezing corn before, or rather, a guest poster shared a her method. However, for the last two summers I’ve improved on the method. Why cook the whole cob, when you really only need to quickly blanch the kernels? I’ll explain this a bit more further in the post.

• First of all, from cob to kernel, here’s what you need to know about corn.
• Second, here’s a quick trick for cutting corn off the cob that will save you some time and sanity.
• Lastly, don’t freeze all of your corn. Save some to make this outstanding Harvest Corn Chowder.

Okay, so you’ve shucked your corn and cut it off the cob. Now what? Well first you need to make a big batch of corn stock.

You can find a printable recipe here, but all you really need to do is cover the cobs in cool water, add a few aromatics (peppercorn, thyme, onion, etc) and simmer for a few hours. Then strain, cool, and use for chowders, soups, and risotto.

For the kernels, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a 1/2 teaspoon or so of salt. Cook the corn in batches -say 2-3 cups per- for about 2 minutes. It doesn’t have to be completely cooked; we do this to preserve the colour and texture before freezing the corn.

Scoop the corn out with a spider and cool it on a tea towel lined baking sheet. This helps to absorb the excess water as well. When the corn is cool to the touch, scoop into small resealable bags and seal them tightly. I do 2 cups per bag.

Lay the bags flat, smooth out the corn and try to press out as much air as possible. Your corn is now ready for freezing. Beware of photobombing, corn-crazed chickens that will stare down your stash and will it to fall over.

UPDATE: This stack fell over about one second after I snapped this iPhone photo.

UPDATE 2: I somehow missed a bag out there when I brought the others in and that dang hen got her wish. I emptied the pecked bag onto the grass and insisted she share with the flock.

Corn for everyone.

I now have 2 dozen bags of corn in my freezer. Let the snow fly! Just kidding. But seriously, grab the kids and freeze some corn this weekend.

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