For a real treat this winter, why not freeze your home-grown corn right on the cob?
In the first place, I believe that this method produces the finest-flavored frozen corn. The second place is the easiest way to freeze corn.
Freezing Method
Cutting the kernels of a large quantity of corn direct from the garden is both difficult and tedious and takes a long time since the kernels are not easy to cut. It is much simpler to freeze the whole ear.
Here is the method we follow:
- Use the largest-sized pot you have, fill it nearly full of water, and start this boiling rapidly on two burners, if possible. The more heat available, the better it is. Into this pot, put fifteen ears of corn. This will cool the water hut.
With the large volume, the temperature is still high. The time is noted as soon as the water starts to boil again, and the corn is boiled for only two minutes. This is called blanching.
- The ears are then cooled under running water.
- They are then picked up and dried with a towel, laid in a flat pan, and placed in the freezer until they are almost frozen. This is a quick way to reduce the temperature of the corn.
- When almost frozen, the whole ears are put into Cryovac poultry bags, three to a hag. Tie the end of the hag and put the packages, spread out loosely, into the freezer.
Spreading loosely allows for air circulation, and the ears will freeze solid rapidly. When frozen solid, the packages can be placed close together.
Speed is essential, and it is most important to freeze every kernel in the shortest possible time. A skilled man can pick and husk 120 ears of corn in two hours, and the corn can be frozen and packed in four additional hours.
Fact To Remember in Freezing Corn
A vital fact to remember in freezing corn, or any other vegetable, is that the frozen product is not equal in quality to the fresh vegetable. Therefore, only the very best corn available should be used for freezing.
Look at each ear and ruthlessly discard those not of the finest quality. Pick each ear to freeze as if you plan to eat it at once. Ears for freezing should be a little more mature than those picked for eating immediately.
Method of Cooking
Our method of cooking fresh corn is simple. Drop the ears into a large pot of rapidly boiling water for only three minutes.
Good corn can be cooked in that amount of time; cooking longer will certainly lower its quality. If corn can’t be cooked at that time, it is not of good quality, and longer cooking won’t help it.
Frozen corn, or at least corn frozen on the cob, should be cooked differently. We put the corn, direct from the freezer, into a pressure cooker and cook it for one minute at fifteen pounds.
Then the ears are picked up one at a time, and the little end of each cob is cooled under running cold water to give you something to hold on to since they will be very hot. Then cut the kernels, which are not yet completely cooked, off the cob and place them in a Pyrex dish.
Add salt and butter and place under the broiler for a few minutes to finish cooking the corn. Serve piping hot.
You see, one minute in the pressure cooker is long enough for cooking the kernels but not nearly sufficient to heat the inside of the cob.
Therefore the kernels are cut off at once; otherwise, they would become tepid and soggy.
If the corn were cooked long enough to heat the inside of the cob, the kernels would be overcooked and spoiled. Even frozen corn on the cob, bought in the markets, is fairly good if cooked in this manner.
Corn of one of the best main crop varieties (I happen to believe that Seneca Chief is the best) harvested at the right moment, then frozen and cooked as above, is at least equal in quality to the best early kinds used fresh from the garden.
How To Eat Fresh Corn
There is always the question of how to eat fresh corn. If it is cut off the cob in the kitchen, you can be sure that some ears, not of the best quality, will get mixed in, thus reducing the quality by ten to fifteen percent.
I enjoy picking out the cars that seem best to me as the corn is passed and eating them on the cob. There is quite a difference in quality in a dozen ears of corn, and if you want the best, you must be able to decide quickly when it is passed around.
It is a funny thing, but many people are helpless when it comes to their turn to choose which ear to eat. In any lot of corn that is passed to the table, there are two tilings to remember when selecting an ear.
First, the ears with medium-sized kernels are best. Those with kernels too small are not ripe, and those with large kernels are too old. Then pick an ear medium in color.
The size of the kernel is the most important indication for, if it is the right size, the color can be whitish or yellowish, and the ear will still be good, although the medium color is the best.
44659 by Albert C. Burrage