Freezing corn is an economical way to preserve the harvest. Here is a step-by-step tutorial for how to freeze corn.
I grew up in the country watching my parents can and freeze vegetables from our large garden, so I am familiar with the process of freezing corn. However, I have been removed from that country life since I moved away from home.
A few years ago our neighbor gave us a huge tray filled with corn he had husked. I had to quickly figure out how to freeze corn.
After cleaning the corn I found out we had 37 ears total. I saved six ears to cook with two upcoming meals and prepared the rest to freeze.
At that time, three ears per meal was perfect for our family. We would cut the corn off of one cob to split between our two kids. Our oldest was seven and missing his two front teeth, and our youngest was almost two and not ready to eat corn on the cob.
Before I started, I asked my mom for tips and reviewed the steps I found at PickYourOwn.org.
How to Freeze Corn – Steps I Used
Step 1 – Gather and husk your corn. Try to remove as much of the corn silk as you can. If you are doing this the night before, put corn in refrigerator until you are ready for the next step.
Step 2 – Blanch whole ears of corn in boiling water for 6 minutes and immediately put in pan of ice water. The boiling kills the enzymes that breakdown the flavor and color of the corn over time, and the immediate cooling prevents over-cooking. We don’t want to fully cook the corn.
Step 3 – Cut kernels off the cob using a sharp knife and a pan. I put the pointed end of an ear of corn into the hole of a fluted Bundt-style pan. When I cut off the kernels, they collected in the pan and the hole kept the ear from moving while I was cutting.
Step 4 – Fill freezer-safe bags with the whole kernel corn, and store flat in freezer. When I finished, I had 6 quart-sized, vacuum-sealed, freezer bags filled with corn.
After I was done, I sent a text message to my mom letting her know about my accomplishment (because I really felt like that was a huge accomplishment for me). I was truly surprised at how easy it was to prepare corn to freeze.
Do you have additional tips for freezing corn?
How do you cook it after it’s frozen?
I pour the corn into a pan and heat on the stove with a little butter and some seasonings. I like to use garlic and oregano. When my husband cooks he likes to use lime juice and cilantro.
Do you scrape the corn cob?
A little bit. I try to get as much of the whole kernels as I can. You could also cut the corn a little more shallow which will break the kernels for more of a cream style corn.
I have been living in a farm for over 30 years and I have put up corn many ways but one day my precious mother in law told me she heard of a new way to put up corn. So here goes: shuck and Silk corn then wash it and remove any bad spots then start cutting corn off con and after the ear has the kernels removed use the back of the knife to scrape all of the milk off con. We usually do 200-300 ears so we have a lot of corn. Then I measure out 15 cups of corn and 5 cups of ice water. Then I ad a 1\2 cup of sugar and a1\8 cup of salt. I then mix well and let sit on counter for 15 mins and stir again and let it sit another 15 mins. Then stir again and then put in bags of freezer contains. And put in freezer and when you get ready to fix just thaw and cook. I add butter and pepper. No cooking and waiting for it to cool down and then bag it. I hope you will try this. It tastes like it just came out of the corn patch.
Well, I, for one, am going to try this raw method. Sure sounds like a winner to me!
I like this. thanks for sharing
It was so easy !! I will be doing this again for sure!!!🥰