We plant a large garden every year and have always avoided growing our own corn until this year. My husband decided that enough was enough and he was going to dig a special garden plot just for us to plant corn. It took him 3 weeks to dig up a new plot, put in new soil, sow in some good fertilizer, and then he planted the corn…straight from a seed packet.
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Once they sprouted up from the ground he kept a close eye on them and tended to them as needed. I’m happy to report that we’ve successfully have grown our own corn! Yay! We’ve been harvesting fresh ears of corn every few days and I decided that I need to blanch & freeze some of it for later use. Here’s how I like to prep my corn and then freeze it for the wintertime.
Shuck the corn…making sure that you remove all silk and cut out any of the bad spots. If you get a really wormy ear…I suggest tossing it into the trash or outside for the wildlife to enjoy. Rinse ears underneath cool running water and then set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a full rolling boil. Place ears of corn into the boiling water, cover the pot and bring it to a full boil again. Boil the ears for 4 full minutes. Turn off the heat. Place corn in a large bowl that has been filled with cold water and a few ice cubes. It’s important to stop the cooking process by immediately cooling down your ears.
Once they are cool…cut off the kernels using a specially made tool called a corn kernel stripper. The one that I like to use is made by Pampered Chef and I purchased it from Amazon for a really great price. You can check out my official review on that cool kitchen tool by reading my Pampered Chef Corn Kernel Cutter post that I published last week. I place all of my freshly cut corn in a large mixing bowl and let it sit for about 20 minutes to let the moisture dry off. I then measure out 3 to 4 cups of kernels using a measuring cup and place them into freezer-safe zippy close bags. Make sure you purge out the air before closing up the bags.
Label all bags and place them immediately into the freezer. When storing your bags you always want to make sure they lay flat on your freezer shelf. This helps to cut down the formation of ice crystals and saves on freezer space. Your corn should keep for up to 1 year…although we always have our’s eaten with 6-7 months.
To Use: Simply use your bags of frozen corn just like you would with any store bought corn! I love using mine in various soups and stews throughout the winter…especially a good homemade chicken corn or chicken noodle soup, although a delicious homemade beef vegetable soup would be great too!
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Home grown corn must taste so great. It would have so much flavor.
This looks like a good way to use fresh corn that is so plentiful at this time of year. We don’t have a garden but the farmers market near us has lots of fresh corn at very reasonable prices.
I watched my grandmas do this as a kid. I loved helping out, too.
I used to help my grandma and mom do this. It is so much better than store bought corn. I love your Pampered Chef Corn Kernel Cutter! If we had a garden I would be getting one.
My husband enjoys corn often. I never tried to freeze it as of yet. This is good advice and I will try it.
I love corn that has been home grown. It is so much better. It has so much flavor. You are so lucky that you have a great garden.