There is something very calming to me about tasks like shucking corn, shelling peas, etc.  Perhaps it is the mindless repetitive activity, or the literal ‘feeling’ of being ‘in-touch’ with my food? Whatever it is, I never mind these tasks.

I am very picky about the corn I buy for my family, I have discovered that not all sweet corn is the same.  It really does matter who grows it.  I typically buy my corn from one of two farms, Freeman’s if I am down at the beach and Filasky’s Produce if I am traveling in the northern part of Delaware.  Both are so good and so fresh that I barely need to cook them at all.  So, when I buy corn, I buy more than I need for that day and freeze the rest for use in the off-season.  I don’t save ears for use another day, they lose sweetness each day after they are picked.  If I need corn again, I just go buy it, fresh corn is worth the extra trip.

How to Freeze Corn

What you need:

Corn

Water

Ice

Large pot

Spider or tongs

2 Large bowls

Sharp knife

Tube or bundt pan if you have one (makes things much easier)

Steps:

1. Shuck the corn

2. Bring the large pot of water to a rapid boil

3. Add the corn, the water should come back to a boil in about a minute, if it does not, you probably have too much corn in the put for the amount of water.  I do 4 ears at a time, which works well for my large soup pot.  Blanch for 4-6 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the large bowl of ice (LOTS of ice).

4. Remove the corn with your spider or tongs and plunge the blanched ears into the ice water. A good rule of thumb is to ice the corn for as long as you blanched them.  This works well if you are doing more than one group of corn –  put the next batch in the boiling water while the first batch cools, remove those and add more ice for the second batch.

5. Remove the corn from the ice water to the second bowl.

6. Cut the corn kernels off the cob.  I learned a great technique using a tube pan.  Cut the kernels off the end of the ear (see below), then stick the ear in the hole of the tube pan. Then cut the kernels off straight down.  They will fall neatly into the pan rather than shooting off the end of the cutting board.  (See second picture below)

7. Freeze in ziploc bags, pressing the air out of the bag before you seal it (or if you are lucky enough to have a vacuum sealer, use it).  I store them in 1 cup quantities, that seems to be the most useful for future uses, I can use multiple bags if necessary.