Whether your buy a bunch of sweet corn at the local farmer’s/supermarket, grow it in your own backyard, or fail miserably at growing it in your own backyard and end up getting some from your uncle, (Thanks Greg!) you’ll want to make certain you’ve got a surefire way of preserving that delicious bounty this summer.
World’s Cutest Corn ShuckerMy favorite way of preserving sweet corn is to blanch and freeze it. Personally, I think it tastes fresher and the texture is better than when you can it. You can also make the packages just the right size for your typical recipes/family meals this way. It’s fairly simple to do to which I like, and the kids can help to shuck the fresh corn which they like. Win-win. Sometimes the dog might even try to lend a hand!
Oh, Charli!The Nitty Gritty:
Once you have the corn in hand, the first step is to shuck it and remove as much of the corn silk as you possibly can. Next, you’ll fill up a giant pot with water and put it on to boil. This son of a gun took almost 30 minutes to get up to temp!
Once the water is boiling, gently drop the ears into the pot and let them boil for 3 minutes. When the time is up, use a pair of tongs to carefully remove them to a colander to drain and cool. It is at this time you will realize your toddler did in fact take a bite out of EVERY SINGLE EAR of corn.
The Culprit
Gotcha Mom!Once it’s cool enough to handle (patience is worth it here), cut the corn from the cob and portion out into freezer bags or seal-a-meal bags. We like to use our FoodSaver for this. It sucks out all of the air and helps the corn to keep longer. Label and toss into the freezer. The corn will keep for up to a year and can be used in any recipe you’d use store bought frozen corn in.
Once the corn has been processed, we like to put the husks into the compost pile, and give the cobs to the chickens as a snack. The manure from the chickens is tossed into the compost pile as well and serves to further enrich our soil with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium for the next year’s growing season! “It’s the circle of liiiiifffe…”
Into the compost bin!
Sunny and Goldie Hen enjoy some “Chicken Treats!”