The day before I was to leave on a two-week trip to visit family, I harvested everything out of my garden that I could. I did not want our hard work to go to waste.
I picked forty ears of corn. Then I sat on the patio and shucked forty ears of corn..... I had to share all but one of those forty ears with various corn worms; the wormy parts had to be cut off with a paring knife. At least the worms were considerate and mostly stayed on the end, leaving the largest portion of the corn for me :) Overall the corn looked beautiful.
This is how my momma taught me to put up corn for the freezer. This is not how she learned it from her momma, but this is the easier way ;)
After shucking it and getting most of the silks off, take the corn in and rinse it in cool water and put it in a big pot. Cover the corn as best you can with water and turn the stove on high.
When it reaches a boil, keep boiling for 10 minutes.
Then turn the stove off and remove each ear from the hot water -- use tongs -- and stand the ears in a clean dish drainer to cool.
After the corn is cool enough to handle comfortably, scrape the kernels off the cob, using a sharp knife and a big bowl.
You will end up with a big stack of corn cobs and a big bowl of corn.
Put the corn in pint or sandwich size plastic bags, filling the bag, then pressing the air out and sealing. To store, put two pint bags inside a 1-quart freezer bag, label the bags and stick them in the freezer.
My big bowl yielded enough corn for seven meals.
The best way to fix this corn is to take it out of the freezer, remove it from the bag and put it in a glass bowl. Thaw and cook it in the microwave (this is one of the few things I actually cook in the microwave), adding a little butter and a little salt. It will taste almost as fresh as the day you put it up.
I love corn! THX for this easy way to prepare it to enjoy later. I remember how the cut off corn "flies" all over the kitchen, especially the window over the sink!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful holiday.
How absolutely wonderful to harvest your own corn! It looks fantastic and although clearly a lot of work to prepare for the freezer, it's now very user friendly! Do you make fresh corn chowder? I love the sound of this but have never made it. Do post a recipe if you do! I hope those corn worms know their place and keep their distance - you are brave to do battle with these beasties! E x
ReplyDeleteLooks wonderful, Angela, our corn is late this year and that has been a good thing with all of the repairs going on around here. Enjoy your bounty of harvest. It is a great feeling to see the fruits of our labor in the freezer, and it makes it so easy when winter comes. Enjoy your day,
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Sue
Thanks, that's good to know.
ReplyDeleteWe used to prepare corn for the freezer similarly, but we used an electric knife to cut the kernels from the cob. My husband no longer plants corn in our garden though. We were beaten by the corn worms. Our were not as polite as yours. They burrowed way down in the husk. Blah.
ReplyDeleteYou go girl..this is great. I canned mine one year, but I think I will do this if I ever have enough corn..what a great a productive garden season...now enjoy your bounty
ReplyDeletemmm-mmm does that look good!
ReplyDeleteThe one year we had extra corn I dried it in the oven after cutting it off the cobs. It gets a little brown and toasty. Then when it's cool, it's hard as rocks and can be stored at room temperature; I kept it in a big jar I think. In the winter we would simmer it in water with salt and pepper until tender, and serve it as a side dish -- the yummiest thing ever.
ReplyDeleteToday we picked basil, kale, snow peas and strawberries. We don't grow corn on the coast but I did buy two ears today and they looked like yours...multiple colors and they were a great way to introduce butter to the diet at dinner tonight. How fun to grow your own...even with worms. We avoid the GMO and non organic corns...and except for what folks grow at home, there sure is a lot of that.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun how pictures make all the work you did seem easy...it will help someone who has never done this type of food prep before to venture in. Today two ladies in line at a grocery asked me what my lemon cucumber was and what would I do with it...so I shared how to marinate a cucumber which neither of them had ever done before.