Freezing Corn 101

This was right outside our front door at 7:30am today. We don't mess around with freezing corn in this house. :) It's one of the few vegetables that I actually enjoy eating and we use it throughout the year in roasts, as side dishes and I love to pull one out when we make meals for people in our church. There's no work involved and it's delicious. There's nothing better than REAL sweet corn, fresh from the cob, when it's February and the stuff in the store just isn't the same.

I'm not a Lancaster County true blood. I wasn't raised Mennonite. I didn't grow up canning everything in sight. I didn't share a last name with anyone in my elementary school (except my brothers, duh). We were from Canada (*gasp*) and we just didn't do the whole freezing and canning thing. Not sure if that has anything to do with being from Canada or just the way my parents did things. Anyway, when we got married, I started dabbling in this stuff and it's pretty fun and easy and cheap and we reap the benefits all year long!

So for those of you who grew up doing this stuff and you could talk circles around my little corn freezing tutorial....please feel free to skip this post and come back another day. But for the rest of you, who've never stocked your freezer or shelves for the year...I wrote this one for you. Just in case you're avoiding it because you think it's something difficult or costly or time consuming or only for those crazy crunchy Mennonite homemakers...I wanted you to see how simple it really is! And maybe next year we can have a Corn Day together! :)

Ok so to start, just get your corn. We do  a LOT of corn so what we did today was 16 bakers dozen. It turns out to be around 50 quart bags worth of corn. I typically use corn as a side or in a dish once a week so I wanted to have at least this much. You can do as much or as little as you want. Doing this much corn takes a better part of a day. But find some friends and shuck together and it makes quick work.

Shuck the corn and de-hair it. I have no clue what the technical term is for that. I use a baby bottle bristle brush to get the little hairs off. It works perfectly.

Boil the corn for about 10 minutes and immediately shock them in cold water. I just fill up my kitchen sink with cold water and dump them in there after they are done boiling.

Then when your kids are whining and wanting your attention, find things to occupy them. 

See? Happy as can be! :) Just kidding. I took breaks throughout the day to love on my littles. Emma had so much fun playing on Daddy's truck "helping" us shuck the corn. 

Next, cut the kernels off of the cob. My extra fancy technique looks like this:

I put a big bowl on the bottom and then turn a smaller bowl upside down inside. That way, when I cut the kernels off, they drop right down into the big bowl. Last year for Christmas I got a new corn kernel getter-offer thing. (I'm so technical) and it is genius. I am loving it! So, if you're really getting into it...I'd recommend one. Otherwise, a knife works just as well.

Fill your quart sized freezer bags about half full. Don't overstuff them or it'll be hard to get them to lay flat. Stack them flat so they will take up minimal space in your freezer.

and......ta da! You're done! Put them away in the freezer and you've got yummy things for your tummy year round!

And if you're really interested, just let me know. We know some local farmers who would be able to get you some awesome sweet corn for much cheaper than you would pay in the grocery store. I would be more than happy to get some for you!