The key to capturing the sweetness of corn is preserving the day of harvest. Corn quickly starts losing its sweetness after picking, with the sugar converting to starch at a rapid pace. Before bringing home corn you need to have a plan. Each summer my husband and I set aside an entire day to process two bushels. I end up with corn on the counters, the floor, and pieces on my apron, but the result is a year’s worth of sweet corn tucked in freezers and jars.
There’s a difference of opinion in the food preservation community about blanching, but I did an experiment last year and the blanched corn seemed soggy compared to non-blanched. Do your own experiment to see what you like best.
Here are the ways I preserved corn this year and my process:
- Freeze dried- We freeze dried corn for the first time last year and it was an incredible pantry asset. The corn was not only an addictive snack, but very handy as I could just dip out any amount instead of opening a freezer pack. Light as air, freeze dried corn rehydrates quickly. You can also dehydrate corn, but rehydrating time takes much longer and will not taste as fresh.
- Unblanched cobettes frozen with seasonings and butter – I seasoned some cobettes with herbed salt and butter, and others with Old Bay and butter. To cook I will simply throw the bag in a pot of boiling water and cook until done.
- Roasted and frozen – We brushed corn with a little butter and grilled just long enough to get a light char. I cut the corn off the cob and froze both vacuum sealed bags and a flash froze for a working gallon bag.
- Unshucked and frozen – This takes up more freezer space, but when you are facing two bushels of corn it’s nice to have this easy option. I also like having variety in my pantry. To preserve, just pull back husk and silk to check for worms, cover back up and freeze.
- Unblanched- Cut off the cob and freeze in vacuum sealed bags. Before vacuum sealing, flash freeze the corn filled bags flat to seize up any moisture to prevent corn juice from being sucked into your machine.
- Cooked in butter, a little salt and butter, frozen.
I really wanted to can Eastern Shore Corn Relish from The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving but we are moving to another house next year and I’m trying to move fewer full jars. This recipe uses Old Bay and is delicious, but it’s mostly the two of us now and not sure we could go through a canner full by next year.
I’m also air drying two cobs as an experiment. I saw someone on You Tube air drying and grinding the kernels for polenta. I just wanted to see how the corn air dries on the cob and how well it grinds down. Here is the corn one week into the air drying process.
You might notice I didn’t mention canning corn. I buy sweet corn which tends to get a tad brown from caramelization (not in a good way) during the canning process, so I’m choosing to no longer can it. Because I freeze dry corn there is no need for me to pressure can corn.
After you are done with the cobs, consider making corn cob jelly, corn stock, or corn cob syrup which tastes a lot like maple syrup. The corn silk has medicinal properties including help with high cholesterol, kidney stones, urinary health and more. Corn silk can be made into a tea but it does taste like corn water. Another option is to air or freeze dry, grind and put into capsules. I also want to dry husks and use for tamales but haven’t tried that yet.
What are your favorite ways to preserve corn? Please share in the comments, I’m always looking for new recipes and techniques.
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