The Turner's Thoughts: Freezing Corn

I mentioned in a previous post that I was going to share about freezing corn. My mom has traditionally done this each summer, but I've never really paid close attention to what exactly needs to be done to make it a success. This summer was different. Here are a few words of advice before I tell you how to go through the process.

- Set aside most of the day to do it
- If you have a baby, make sure someone is there to help when your hands are full of corn
- Wear an apron at all times
- Expect that your kitchen floor with be sticky and will need washed when you're done
- Eat lots of corn

First decide how much corn you want to freeze. My mom and I decided to buy 20 dozen ears and split whatever the result was. We ended up with 49 decent sized bags of corns (pictures to follow). The first step of course is husking all of the corn. I don't have a picture of this, but I recommend doing it the day before you actually start the freezing process. Once the corn is husked, boil water in a few large pots. Cook the corn just like you would if you were going to eat it off the cob. The color of the corn will change slightly.

My mom has lots of big pots to use after many years in the kitchen so we decided to do it at her house

Once the corn is cooked, start the cooling process. I recommend doing this outside, otherwise you'll have water everywhere when you transfer the corn. Move the warm corn into a tub and simply put cool water, preferably from a hose, on it to reduce the temperature of the cobs a bit. Then move the corn into a tub with ice cold water (I forgot to mention you'll need to buy several bags of ice - I think we used 3 of the largest bags). Let the corn cool off completely! I became a little impatient towards the end, but my mom reminded me that it's really important for it to cool off.

Notice the tubs of water in the background

Cooling off

After the corn is cool, lay it out to let it dry off. Then transfer it to your table or workspace where you will cut it.

Ready to cut

Remember to sharpen your knives before you start cutting and then let the fun begin! Using a big basin or tub of some sort is best so you have lots of room.