How to Preserve Sweet Corn

After eating fresh sweet corn, eating corn that was harvested from your garden and preserved is the next best taste. You can preserve sweet corn by freezing or canning it. Freezing is the easiest and quickest method. It's also the safest and most foolproof method to preserve sweet corn; the coldness retains its natural flavor. To preserve corn, all you need are a freezer, a few supplies and a little know-how.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Sharp knife
• Vegetable brush
• Kitchen timer
• Tongs
• Sink cleanser
• Ice cubes
• Thick, clean towels
• Plate
• Large spoon
• Quart- or pint-size freezer bags

1. Husk the corn and pull off the silk. With a sharp knife, cut off small, undeveloped kernels on the ends and trim any bad spots. Then, scrub each ear of sweet corn with a vegetable brush to remove the rest of the silk and the dirt.

2. Boil a pot of water on the stove until it's rolling. Carefully put the sweet corn in the pot using the tongs. The water should cover the corn. After the water returns to a boil, set the timer for five minutes.

3. Sanitize the kitchen sink with a cleanser; rinse well. Plug the sink and fill it half full with cold water. Add enough ice cubes to make the water frigid.

4. Use the tongs to remove the ears of sweet corn from the boiling water when the timer goes off. To preserve the blanched corn, it needs to be cooled down quickly. Place it in the ice water, and change the water and add more ice as needed.

5. Set the timer for five minutes. Lay out some towels on the counter. After five minutes when the ears have cooled, remove the sweet corn from the ice water and place it on the towels to drain.

6. Stand the cobs up on a plate and cut the kernels off in a downward motion. Don't scrape the cob. Spoon the sweet corn into freezer bags, leaving 3 inches from the top. Tamp the corn down gently as you fill the bags.

7. Squeeze the air out of the bags of sweet corn and then seal them. Label and date the bags before placing them in your freezer. Frozen sweet corn can be stored for up to 18 months.

Tips & Warnings

• To preserve sweet corn so it has the best taste, use fresh ears that were picked no longer than six hours earlier.
• To prevent scalds and burns, use extreme caution when working with the boiling water. For safety, keep children and pets out of the kitchen while you're preserving corn.

References

• How to Preserve Sweet Corn