Freezing Corn
It’s understandable that during the last days of summer the last thing we want to think about is winter, but those days are coming. Harvest hits just after the height of summer, which means that despite the sunshine and sea spray we are moving towards autumn. The produce is as fresh as the days themselves. There is no finer celebration of this abundance than making our evening meal with produce harvested that morning. Doing so is the very definition of celebrating the moment, that crucial dimension of the practice of living seasonally that is at the very core of urban home blog.
As important as living in the moment is preserving the goodness of the moment. Commemoration is a cornerstone of seasonal living. One way we do this is memory-keeping, from memory pages to shadow boxes, from scrapbooks and albums to paper crafts. Another way is canning and preserving. With a jar and some attentiveness, we celebrate the abundance of the harvest by preserving it for leaner times to come. This is the very reason canning and preserving exist. Before the advent of mass food production, processing and storage, ways had to be identified to preserve food when it was available as insurance against times when it wouldn’t be. It was discovered that salt could preserve food, which we also learned about sugar even though sugar was not widely available because it was labor intensive and costly. Oils from olive to palm functioned as a preservative. Other practices included air drying, smoking and refrigeration.
Yes, refrigeration. You may not think that refrigeration existed prior the kitchen appliance industry, but it did. Any college student getting ready to settle into Anthro 101 will soon be able to educate you about civilizations settling along water supplies. Depending on the microclimate, those rivers, creeks and springs may get cold enough to function as a communal refrigeration source for foodstuffs wrapped and tied as well as possible against strong currents and inquisitive marine life. In places cold enough to get snow or ice, it was learned that exposure to extreme cold could preserve food.
None of this was news to your grandmother, the top of whose ice box was a frosty wonderland of cuts of beef wrapped in waxy butcher paper, of cylinders of homemade ice cream, of cloudy ice cubes extracted from a spring loaded tray only with effort and then tasting of the metal therefrom. Grandma still remembered when a refrigeration unit necessitated a twice-weekly visit from the ice man, and when to have one at all was a sign of wealth. And during the summer canning, which ranged from simple preparations like tomatoes and green beans to labor intensive ones from soups to relishes, she often stepped away from the pressure canner long enough to push a tendril of hair behind her ear, wipe her hands on her apron, and wonder what she was going to do with all of those ears of corn that the menfolk kept piling on the back porch with no end in sight.
Creamed corn, corn soup, and corn relish all found their way into jars, but as a crop that yields an impressive harvest that peaks during late summer, it is likely that some of that excess corn found its way into the freezer. Corn is especially suited to freezing as a preservation method. As we’ve noted while rooting around in the freezer this summer, freezing usually intensifies flavor but sometimes it can flatten it out. Because of its cellular structure, which is the conveyance for the high amount of sugars it contains, corn emerges from the freezer virtually unchanged in flavor, texture or freshness from how it went in. As a home preservation project, nothing is easier, more cost effective or more foolproof than freezing corn. It’s an awfully nice crop to have at the ready for everything from Sunday supper to the Thanksgiving feast, and it is indispensable as a quick side dish for a busy weeknight dinner.
FROZEN CORN
In our urban kitchen, we like Ball freezer jars for home preserving; to obtain them, click here. For this recipe, you will need approximately six 16-ounce freezer jars. If you prefer to use freezer bags, get a sturdy brand in quart size.
Approximately 2 dozen ears fresh corn
1 tablespoon table salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1. Place a large Dutch oven on the stove top and fill the Dutch oven half way with cold filtered water. Add the salt and sugar to the water. Put the lid on the Dutch oven and bring the water to a boil.
2. Position a large mixing bowl in the sink.
3. While waiting for the water to boil, prepare each ear of corn. Use one hand to hold each ear at the base where it was removed from the stalk. Use the other hand to strip the green outer leaves (the husk) away from the corn, taking as many silks along with it as you can. Use your hands or a corn brush to remove remaining silk if any.
4. Inspect each ear as you go. Do not use any ears that are moldy or that display black or brown discoloration or soft spots.
5. Place each husked and silked ear of corn that passes inspection into the mixing bowl. Any residual dirt or silks should float into the water; if so, rinse each ear before proceeding to step 7.
6. Once you have prepared all of the corn, check the water on the stovetop.
7. Once the water is boiling, gently place the corn into the water. It is okay to blanch the corn in batches.
8. Cover the Dutch oven and turn off the heat. Wait ten minutes.
9. While waiting for the corn to blanch, empty the cleaning water from the mixing bowl and rinse the mixing bowl clean of any residue. Move the mixing bowl to a work surface near the stovetop. Empty two ice cube trays into the mixing bowl.
10. After ten minutes, remove the lid from the Dutch oven. The corn should be tender and very fragrant. Use tongs to lift each ear, holding the ear over the pot to let excess water drain. Place the corn into the bowl with the ice.
11. Use your hands to gently mix the ice and the corn together. The cooking process should halt; you will know it has done so when the corn is cool enough to touch.
12. Stand each blanched ear of corn on a cutting board, balancing the ear on the wide flat cut from the stalk. Use a sharp paring knife to cut the kernels from the top of the ear to its base. The kernels will fall off of the cob in strips.
13. As you work, scoop the kernels into a large bowl. Once you have cut all of the corn, use a wooden spoon to gently stir it in the bowl. Most of the kernels will break apart from the strips; it is okay if some do not.
14. Use the spoon to gently transfer the kernels to freezer jars or freezer bags. Label the corn with the date prepared, and place the corn into the freezer.
As important as living in the moment is preserving the goodness of the moment. Commemoration is a cornerstone of seasonal living. One way we do this is memory-keeping, from memory pages to shadow boxes, from scrapbooks and albums to paper crafts. Another way is canning and preserving. With a jar and some attentiveness, we celebrate the abundance of the harvest by preserving it for leaner times to come. This is the very reason canning and preserving exist. Before the advent of mass food production, processing and storage, ways had to be identified to preserve food when it was available as insurance against times when it wouldn’t be. It was discovered that salt could preserve food, which we also learned about sugar even though sugar was not widely available because it was labor intensive and costly. Oils from olive to palm functioned as a preservative. Other practices included air drying, smoking and refrigeration.
Yes, refrigeration. You may not think that refrigeration existed prior the kitchen appliance industry, but it did. Any college student getting ready to settle into Anthro 101 will soon be able to educate you about civilizations settling along water supplies. Depending on the microclimate, those rivers, creeks and springs may get cold enough to function as a communal refrigeration source for foodstuffs wrapped and tied as well as possible against strong currents and inquisitive marine life. In places cold enough to get snow or ice, it was learned that exposure to extreme cold could preserve food.
None of this was news to your grandmother, the top of whose ice box was a frosty wonderland of cuts of beef wrapped in waxy butcher paper, of cylinders of homemade ice cream, of cloudy ice cubes extracted from a spring loaded tray only with effort and then tasting of the metal therefrom. Grandma still remembered when a refrigeration unit necessitated a twice-weekly visit from the ice man, and when to have one at all was a sign of wealth. And during the summer canning, which ranged from simple preparations like tomatoes and green beans to labor intensive ones from soups to relishes, she often stepped away from the pressure canner long enough to push a tendril of hair behind her ear, wipe her hands on her apron, and wonder what she was going to do with all of those ears of corn that the menfolk kept piling on the back porch with no end in sight.
Creamed corn, corn soup, and corn relish all found their way into jars, but as a crop that yields an impressive harvest that peaks during late summer, it is likely that some of that excess corn found its way into the freezer. Corn is especially suited to freezing as a preservation method. As we’ve noted while rooting around in the freezer this summer, freezing usually intensifies flavor but sometimes it can flatten it out. Because of its cellular structure, which is the conveyance for the high amount of sugars it contains, corn emerges from the freezer virtually unchanged in flavor, texture or freshness from how it went in. As a home preservation project, nothing is easier, more cost effective or more foolproof than freezing corn. It’s an awfully nice crop to have at the ready for everything from Sunday supper to the Thanksgiving feast, and it is indispensable as a quick side dish for a busy weeknight dinner.
FROZEN CORN
In our urban kitchen, we like Ball freezer jars for home preserving; to obtain them, click here. For this recipe, you will need approximately six 16-ounce freezer jars. If you prefer to use freezer bags, get a sturdy brand in quart size.
Approximately 2 dozen ears fresh corn
1 tablespoon table salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1. Place a large Dutch oven on the stove top and fill the Dutch oven half way with cold filtered water. Add the salt and sugar to the water. Put the lid on the Dutch oven and bring the water to a boil.
2. Position a large mixing bowl in the sink.
3. While waiting for the water to boil, prepare each ear of corn. Use one hand to hold each ear at the base where it was removed from the stalk. Use the other hand to strip the green outer leaves (the husk) away from the corn, taking as many silks along with it as you can. Use your hands or a corn brush to remove remaining silk if any.
4. Inspect each ear as you go. Do not use any ears that are moldy or that display black or brown discoloration or soft spots.
5. Place each husked and silked ear of corn that passes inspection into the mixing bowl. Any residual dirt or silks should float into the water; if so, rinse each ear before proceeding to step 7.
6. Once you have prepared all of the corn, check the water on the stovetop.
7. Once the water is boiling, gently place the corn into the water. It is okay to blanch the corn in batches.
8. Cover the Dutch oven and turn off the heat. Wait ten minutes.
9. While waiting for the corn to blanch, empty the cleaning water from the mixing bowl and rinse the mixing bowl clean of any residue. Move the mixing bowl to a work surface near the stovetop. Empty two ice cube trays into the mixing bowl.
10. After ten minutes, remove the lid from the Dutch oven. The corn should be tender and very fragrant. Use tongs to lift each ear, holding the ear over the pot to let excess water drain. Place the corn into the bowl with the ice.
11. Use your hands to gently mix the ice and the corn together. The cooking process should halt; you will know it has done so when the corn is cool enough to touch.
12. Stand each blanched ear of corn on a cutting board, balancing the ear on the wide flat cut from the stalk. Use a sharp paring knife to cut the kernels from the top of the ear to its base. The kernels will fall off of the cob in strips.
13. As you work, scoop the kernels into a large bowl. Once you have cut all of the corn, use a wooden spoon to gently stir it in the bowl. Most of the kernels will break apart from the strips; it is okay if some do not.
14. Use the spoon to gently transfer the kernels to freezer jars or freezer bags. Label the corn with the date prepared, and place the corn into the freezer.
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