Freezing Fresh Corn

So last week I got a pretty sweet deal on corn on the cob from Highlander (aka - Krogers). At 19 cents a piece, I grabbed a few bucks worth. The hubby made some for dinner (they were delish) and I prepped the rest for the freezer.

If you have never frozen fresh corn before, I encourage you to try it. With a few simple kitchen tools and a bit of time you can take advantage of in season corn prices and stock up your freezer with healthy, fresh veggies.

So how do you go about freezing corn? Some people freeze it straight up, without much prep... but all my research confirms this as a big no-no. I guess corn - like all veggies - contains enzymes that help it as it grows. But these enzymes, while great for growing, are bad for storing. Left unchecked, they eventually cause color, texture, flavor and vitamin loss which kind of defeats the purpose of freezing. And no – the freezing cold temps of the freezer alone won't kill them.

And so what do we do to ensure that the frozen corn we eat 3 months from now more closely resembles the fresh corn we start with today? We blanch.

Blanching simply means to scald in boiling water. And I mean boiling... like an angry, hissing, pot shaking kind of boil. Yep, that's what it takes to stop or at the very least slow down those pesky enzymes. Make sense?

Ok... so here's how I prepared my super fresh sweet corn for the long, cold deep freeze and how you can too.

Things You'll Need

Several ears of fresh corn on the cob
2 Large bowls, one filled with cold ice water
1 Large pot of boiling water
1 pair of kitchen tongs
1 knife
Ice
Strainer
Freezer storage bags

Steps You'll Take

Clean and Prep
Blanch
Shock
Dry and Cut
Pack and Freeze


Clean and Prep
Start with fresh corn. The fresher the better. Freezing doesn't improve the quality, so make sure to start off well to end well.

Prepare the corn by removing the husks and the silk. I usually leave the cob ends on so that I have something to grab onto when cutting the kernels off later. You can too if you'd like and if your pot is wide enough to accommodate. Otherwise, just cut them off.

Rinse each ear in cool running water and if necessary lightly scrub the corn with a soft bristle vegetable brush to remove any left over husk and/or silk. Use a vegetable wash if you'd like.


Blanch
Fill a large pot ¾ full with water. Heat until you get that enzyme killing, full rolling, angry boil I was talking about earlier. Have the lid ready for later.

Fill one of the large bowls with ice and water. The water has to be super cold to stop the corn from cooking once it comes out of the hot water – so don't skip the ice. You can also fill a sink with ice water and skip dirtying an extra bowl.

Place a few of the ears of corn into the boiling water. You want the water to continue to boil or return to a boil quickly as you add the corn – so go slow and don't add too many ears at once. If the water should stop boiling for a prolonged period of time, you have probably added too many ears and will need to remove a couple.

Cover the pot and begin timing once the water has returned to a rolling boil (hopefully less than one minute). Set your timer for 8 – 11 minutes. Blanch small ears for 7 minutes and medium for 9 minutes and large ears for 11 minutes. Pay close attention to the amount of time you blanch. Too much time will overcook the corn creating a mushy texture and flavor loss. Too little time can encourage enzyme activity and result in flavor, color, texture and vitamin loss.

Shock
Remove the corn from the pot once 7 - 11 minutes has elapsed and plunge immediately into the bowl of ice water. Leave them for 16 – 22 minutes or double the blanching time. This will stop the corn from cooking, which is vital to maintain the texture, flavor, color and vitamins.


Dry and Cut
Remove from the ice water and drain well. Remember that any extra water left on the corn will form ice crystals once the corn is frozen and damage the kernels – so get it good and dry. I let the corn rest in a strainer for a few minutes and then pat dry with a paper towel.

Trim the corn for end use. You basically have three options here - leave as a whole cob, cut cob in half to create mini cobs or strip the cob with a sharp knife or corn cob cutter to create nibblets. I usually just use a sharp knife, but have heard some good things about the Kuhn Rikon corn zipper.

Pack and Freeze
Once your corn is cut up just the way you like – FREEZE! The corn, that is. I know... bad joke. Anyway, place the corn in freezer quality plastic bags and remove as much air as possible...

But wait... before you do that... let's talk about flash freezing. Flash freezing allows you to use one big bag to hold several portions. Because each piece is individually frozen prior to storage, you minimize the chances of several pieces of corn freezing together into one huge frozen clump of corn (YUK). When you're ready to use, you just open the bag, pour out what you need and return the rest to the freezer. To flash freeze simply spread out the pieces of corn, single layer on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer until just solid. This usually takes 30 minutes to an hour or so... just keep checking in on it. Once frozen, place in the freezer bag.

Or... you can skip the flash freezing and freeze the corn in single meal serving sizes. In this case it doesn't really matter if there is some clumping because it will all get worked out once the corn is cooked.

Before you freeze, remember - the primary enemy to any type of food storage is air... so be sure to get as much of it out as you can. Personally, I love using my Reynolds Handi Vac.It was pretty cheap when I bought it, it's convenient, space saving and has held up really well. I once kept a refrigerated head of lettuce for about 5 months (YIKES!) freshly sealed in a Reynold's freezer bag using my Handi Vac.

Your frozen corn can be kept for up to 12 months. To cook, simply microwave or boil from frozen. Do not thaw.

So that's that... fresh summer corn today... frozen summer corn tomorrow. I just want to take a minute to thank You Lord, for sweet corn.


Stretching His Blessings,

Cristine


As a side note: I have learned that Ziploc's vacuum freezer bags will work just as well with the Reynold's Handi Vac. Which was good to know since many of my local stores have discontinued selling the Reynold's bags for some reason. Wah!