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How to Freeze Fresh Corn

Corn is in season! Stock up and freeze fresh corn to enjoy all year — use these easy step-by-step instructions to learn how!

How to Freeze Fresh Corn

There comes a point in every season where it almost feels like you just want to get on with it. It’s not that I dislike summer (or fall or winter or spring). Not at all. But when we start to hit transition, I get a little antsy.

As I sit here in my living room, feeling the chill of the nighttime spill in the open windows, I know that’s where we are now. It’s literal. It’s figurative. It’s happening. And I am ready for that thing that comes next — the whole fall/school/back to seriousness thing.

In case you missed it the 5 billion times I have mentioned it, it’s also the last week of summer vacation for the kids … we’re moving from our summer anything-goes schedule to our rigid school year schedule. Of course, that means that my nights of leisurely dinner making are O-V-E-R too.

So it made sense that today was the day that I finally started prepping some food for the school year. Well, besides the frozen Swiss Chard and Kielbasa Pasta that I tucked in the freezer at the beginning of summer.

Today’s task? Freezing fresh corn. We all love corn and eat it all year, but nothing compares to the amazing sweetness of fresh corn in the summertime. That’s why freezing it is awesome. When the dead of winter hits all I need to do is pull out a bag of fresh corn and it will be, if only for a minute, summer again.

How awesome is that?

How to Freeze Fresh Corn

You’ll want to prepare the corn for cooking by peeling it. I like to toss my peels into the compost pile. These directions come from my cousin, a farmer. She knows her stuff.

Step 1: Blanch the Corn

There are two ways to blanch the corn. You can either steam the corn for 8 minutes or boil it for 4 minutes. My cousin suggests doing this is small batches of three to four ears, but I typically do eight ears at a time

Step 2: Cool the Corn

You will need to handle the corn in step three. The most efficient way to do this is to plunge the corn into a bowl of ice water and let it sit there for a few minutes. Of course, you could also wait for it to cool down enough to handle … but that takes a lot longer.

Step 3: Cut the Corn from the Cob

If you have a corn zipper, this is the time to break it out. Don’t worry if you don’t though. I use a knife to cut down the ear of corn, removing the kernels. It’s very fulfilling. Serious. Be sure to keep the knife as close to the cob as you can when cutting.

Step 4: Freeze the Corn

Transfer the kernels to a freezer bag, seal and freeze until ready to use. This is going to be a great treat in late January when I start to really hate winter.

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More Freezing Food How-Tos:

Savory Corn Crème Brulée with Crispy Parmesan Topping « Apron Strings

Tuesday 13th of September 2011

[...] food bloggers adventures with corn: Find out about freezing fresh corn over at Sarah’s Cucina Bella; Have you ever eaten fresh corn cakes? Try Love and Olive [...]

Kate

Wednesday 24th of August 2011

I'm both excited and nervous about fall coming!