How to Freeze Fresh Sweet Corn and Harvest Corn

Freeze Corn using the freshest ears

Learning how to harvest corn, clean corn, and freeze corn are necessary skills for anyone looking to enjoy the flavor of fresh sweet corn both in and out of season. Whether growing corn in a home garden or planning to buy corn from a market, it is important to prepare sweet corn properly to get the best flavor.

Things You'll Need

• Time
• Bags to put the corn in
• Large sharp knife
• 8 to 12 qt. cooking pot
• freezing containers -see article for types

Instructions

1. 

   Find a respected farmers market or farmer that is growing corn to sell in the spring. To freeze corn of the best quality, it is best to get freshly picked corn, not corn that has been shipped in from some distance. Ask what time of the year they expect to harvest sweet corn, to be ready for when the harvest comes in. Sweet corn is best put up right after picking, at the most within 6 hours -this really makes a difference in the quality because the sugar starts turning to starch right after picking. Plan for the corn preparation day by setting aside at least a week of time. It won't take that long to work with the corn but crop harvests are determined by the weather, something the farmer has no control over. Unforeseen changes in the weather may speedup or delay any planned schedule. If growing corn in a home garden, sweet corn can take from 60 to nearly 100 days to reach maturity. Timing depends on the corn variety and the corn growing conditions. Schedule the plans to freeze corn based on these facts.

2. 

   Get any harvesting and cooking supplies that will be needed. Plastic freezer containers such as sealable plastic bags, can be purchased or simply save up whipped topping and margarine tubs. Check at Goodwill stores for large cooking pots and knives. Make room in the freezer to know how much sweet corn there will be room for. Properly frozen corn can last for several years. Some large, preferably cloth - burlap bags to put the corn in and for hauling off the waste later, will be needed. Don't keep the just picked corn in plastic bags as it will get too hot and go bad. Place it in a large cooler on ice to keep it cool if it can't be processed right away. Try to find a farmer who grows organic corn. There may be worms but these are usually only at the end of the ear and can be cut off when shucking.

3. 

   To harvest sweet corn first be sure it is sweet corn and not field corn. Field corn varieties do not have the sugar content of sweet corn and will not taste sweet. Sweet corn tends to have smaller stalks and ears, and most field corn varieties have purplish silks. Those are the hair-like growths that stick out the end of the ear. Watch for the silks to start turning brown. The shucks -the green leaves that cover the ears, will still be quite green. This is the roasting ear stage. Pull back the shucks on one side of a large ear and see if the corn kernels are filled out. If they are full size, stick a fingernail into one and see if a milky fluid squirts out. Once they have reached this "milky" stage, the corn is ready to harvest. Not all the corn on a stalk will ripen at the same time. Feel a ripe ear and notice how it feels. Any other ripe ears should feel the same. To pick the corn twist it from the stalk and pull it down to break it away. Picking, shucking, preparing, cooking, and freezing a bushel of corn is an all day job, so don't over do it when picking the corn, especially the first time. Do the corn picking or buy corn in the cool of the morning and then get the corn home and shuck it as soon as possible, keeping it in a cool place. Shuck corn by using a large knife and cutting through the top -the stem end of the ear, right at the top of the cob. Use a sawing motion and don't cut all the way through the shucks on the side across from the cut. Pull the cut off top and the uncut green shucks down one side. Now with one side of the ear uncovered, it is possible to see how much of the pointed, silk end to cut off. Cut through the silk end and pull the other shucks off down the other side. Use a large knife to cut the silk end off while shucking. Pick off the silks and lay the ear aside to do the next one. Another way to shuck the corn is by pulling the shucks down completely starting at the pointed end with the silks and breaking them off at the stem end. If there are any corn earworms and their droppings, then this method can be messy.

4. It is best to cut the corn off the cob rather than try and freeze corn on the cob. Corn on the cob takes up too much room and the cob seems to pull the flavor out of the kernels. Do the cutting over a sink or outside, as there will be splatter and it is a messy job. Wash the ears and remove any silks and worm leavings. Don't think that just because there is a corn worm in the ear that it is bad, just cut any chewed on parts off. Hold the ear up right over a cutting surface that can be picked up, or on the edge of a large cooking pot, and slice off the whole kernels going down the ear. if cream style corn is wanted, only cut the tops of the kernels off, and then scrape the liquids out with the knife blade into the pot. It will splatter all over so be ready for the mess. When the cutting surface gets full of corn, empty it over into a large pot. To freeze corn, there is no need to add any water or other ingredients to it.

5. 

   Turn the heat to low and cover the pot for cooking corn. Bring the sweet corn to a slow boil and boil for 2 minutes. Watch it carefully as it can scorch easily. Ladle the sweet corn into containers leaving about an inch of air space at the top for any expansion. Allow to cool in a cold water bath before placing in the freezer. When using the corn for a meal, add flavorings then, such as butter and salt to taste. A bushel of good corn -approx. 60 ears, will yield between 6 to 10 quarts of whole grain corn to freeze and slightly more creamed corn. Now for the clean up. Corn juice is sticky so put everything in to be washed right away and wash down the area around the sink and stove with a soapy cloth then rinse well. The shucks, corn cobs, and cut off ends, can be fed to cows or put in a compost pile if the corn was grown organically.
   Below, under resources there are links to other articles about cooking. Please rate this article and any others you decide to check out, thank you.
   All contents and photos copyrighted by Aupoet.

Tips & Warnings

• Corn can be canned using a pressure cooker. I prefer the taste of frozen corn.

• Field corn can be done the same way to freeze it. It is not sweet like sweetcorn though.

• If the sweet corn becomes tough -no milky juice in the kernels, before harvesting, let it dry on the stalk and use the dry corn for livestock feed or to make grits.

• One way to fill plastic bags easily is to stand them in another container, such as a wide mouthed jar.

• Be careful using a sharp knife around wet ears of corn.

• Watch the cooking corn carefully. It will scorch if the heat is too high.