Directions: |
Directions:1. Start with fresh corn on the cob - as fresh as you can get. If there is a delay between harvesting and freezing, put it in the refrigerator or put ice on it. The sugars break down quickly at room temperature.
2. Get the largest pot you have (I use my canner) filled ¾ full with hot water, put it on your largest burner (or straddle two burners) and get it heating to a full rolling boil..
3. Next, get a LARGE bowl filled with ice and cold water. (We used a galvanized tub). You may need to buy a bag or two of ice if you are planning to do more than a dozen ears of corn.
4. Husk the corn and pick off as much of the silk as you can. A soft vegetable brush is the fastest and easiest way to get the remaining silk off - just don't be too rough with it.
5. All fruits and vegetables contain enzymes that, over time, break down the destroy nutrients and change the color, flavor, and texture of food during frozen storage. Corn requires a brief heat treatment, called blanching, in boiling water or steam, to destroy the enzymes before freezing. Blanching times generally vary from one to 10 minutes, depending on the vegetable. The duration should be just long enough to stop the action of the enzymes.
6. Begin counting the blanching time as soon as you place the corn in the boiling water, noting that the water ought to return to a boil in a minute or less. If it takes several minutes or more to return to a boil, you are using too small a pot or adding too much corn.
7. Cover the kettle and boil at a high temperature for the required length of time. You may use the same blanching water several times (up to 5). Be sure to add more hot water from the tap from time to time to keep the water level at the required height.
8. Blanching time varies depending on the type of frozen corn you are making: cut-whole kernel, cream style or corn-on-the-cob:
Blanching times, for freezing the corn:
Whole Kernel Corn. - 4 to 6 minutes.
Cream style corn - 4 to 6 minutes.
9. Cool corn immediately in ice water. Drain the corn thoroughly.
10. After vegetables are blanched, cool them quickly to prevent overcooking. Plunge the corn into a large quantity of ice-cold water (I keep adding more ice to it). A good rule of thumb: Cool for the same amount of time as the blanch step. For instance, if you blanch sweet corn for 7 minutes, then cool in ice water for 7 minutes.
11. Drain thoroughly.
12. Obviously, if you are freezing the corn on the cob, skip this step.
13. Whole Kernel Corn - Cut kernels from cob about 2/3 the depth of the kernels. I hold the ear by the small end, and slide the knife down the ear.
14. Cream Style Corn - Cut kernel tips about 1/2 deep and scrape the cobs with the back of a knife to remove the juice and the heart of the kernel.
(Another way to prepare cream style corn for freezing is to cut and scrape the corn from the cob without blanching. Place the cut corn in a double boiler, and heat with constant stirring for about 10 minutes or until it thickens; allow to cool by placing the pan in ice water.)
I love the FoodSaverswith their vacuum sealing! I am not paid by them, but these things really work. If you don't have one, ziploc bags work, too, but it is hard to get as much air out of the bags. I remove the air to prevent drying and freezer burn.
15. Use a "Sharpie" marking pen which works well on plastic and won't rub off.
16. Pop them into the freezer, on the quick freeze shelf, if you have one!
17. Later, when you are ready to serve the corn, it just takes about 3 or 4 minutes in the microwave (from frozen) or in the top of a double boiler. It doesn't need to be "cooked", just heated up!
Note: Freezing keeps corn safe to eat almost indefinitely, but the recommended maximum storage time of 12 months is best for taste and quality. The quality of the frozen corn is maintained best in a very cold freezer (deep freezer), and one that keeps them frozen completely with no thaw cycles. Excluding any air from inside the bags which leads to freezer burn, by using vacuum-sealed bags, is also important to maintaining quality.
Tips:
Harvest early in the morning, especially if the weather is hot, to get peak flavor.
Harvest the corn at its peak maturity (milky fluid in the kernels, kernels tender, and not bloated). Immature corn is watery when cooked and over-ripe corn is chewy and doughy.
Process promptly after harvesting, or keep cooled in the fridge or with ice until then. |
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