Corn

Wow. My farmer friend called me early in the week saying he had sweet corn left over and asked me if I wanted it. He had told me earlier in the summer that he usually gets 3 plantings in and he only got 1 in with the weird weather and wouldn't have any extra. I had bought about a bushel a week or so ago but that only made 16 bags in the freezer for winter so I agreed to go get in on Wednesday. My goodness! He had (3) 50# birdseed bags full (about 80 ears each) and about another bushel. He just laughed at me when my eyes about bugged out.

I decided that I didn't need that much corn but he wanted me to take it all so I called a friend. Bless her heart, she took half of it. Actually, I think I gave her a bit more than half since I already had a bit in the freezer. I haven't talked to her yet today, but she was up to her eyeballs in corn yesterday. Well, she did want to learn how to put it up, lol.

I do have quite a process for it and thought I'd share. I use the turkey fryer to blanch the ears and a cooler to cool them down. I also use a bundt pan to hold the ears when I cut the kernels off. It works perfectly. I can do a dozen ears at a time. It's a dance of sorts. First, you shuck the corn.

With organic corn, you always are sharing it with a wiggly friend but he mostly stays on the very tip of the cob. I've found that cutting the end off the cob first really helps to not meet the little (sometimes pretty big) guy and put your fingers in the goo he creates at the top. It also helps to start the shucking process. You grab the top and pull and if you are talented, half the mess comes off. Peel off the other side and you are done. One down, about 10 dozen to go, lol.

While I am shucking corn, I am heating the water in my boiling water canner (huge pot) on the turkey fryer. I am also cooling water in the cooler. It helps to have already labeled many quart sized freezer bags and have them waiting. A good rule of thumb is that it takes about 3 ears of corn to make 2 cups of kernels. I put 2 cups into each bag. I have found that buying many bags of ice adds much expense to the project so I've learned to have some bags of ice in the freezer (an ice maker is a great thing.) I also freeze large containers for big blocks of ice. You can use old water jugs, etc. I freeze 4 of them and use them 2 at a time. I put 2 of them in the cooler and fill it about 1/3-1/2 full of cold water. Before I add the corn, I add a gallon bag or so of ice too.

When the corn is shucked, the water in the pot is boiling and the water in the cooler is cold, the dance begins. A dozen ears of corn go into the boiling pot for 5 minutes. When they are done, they get plunged into the cold water for the same amount of time. So the process is, the timer goes off, the cold ears come out of the cooler, the hot ears go into the cooler, fresh ears go into the boiling pot, the timer is set for 5 minutes and I cut the kernels off the cold ears into the bundt pan, measure 2 cups to a bag and bag them. If there are no little people under foot, I can usually get this accomplished just in time to do it again. I just have to be sure to keep the water in the cooler cold by adding more ice blocks and ice.

In the end, it's so worth it. I have 50 bags of local organic sweet corn in my freezer to enjoy this winter.