Freezing Corn

The corn we grow for freezing is "True Gold," an open pollinated variety. This means it is not a hybrid, and therefore we can save the seed from year to year, saving us the cost of new seed every year.  But more than that, it's about helping to maintain the seedstock so that our grandchildren (the hypothetical ones) will have open  pollinated corn available to them also.

True Gold an old fashioned corn that has not been genetically  manipulated for a higher sugar content.  Unlike hybrids such as "Kandy Corn," it doesn't taste like candy.  It tastes like corn.  We like it.                 

                     
Here on stove tops and countertops you see the cast of characters in our process for freezing corn.  From left to right: paper grocery bag full of corn on the cob, tea kettle for for replenishing blanching water, large pan of water for blanching, bowls and boxes for stripping and packing the corn, and large compost bucket for cobs.


This is a special tool for stripping the corn off the cob,

                                                                                                                               

Facing to the right in this photo is the blade. 
It's very sharp: this tool must be used and stored with care.

To begin the process, we boil water in the large pan. and blanch the corn, on the cob, four at a time for two minutes.  Then the ears are dropped into ice water to cool, and stripped into a large bowl.


As the kernels are cut from the cob, they drop through
the opening on the knife and into the bowl.



From here it is a simple matter to fill the boxes.  I use a small dieters' scale to keep the weight just under 16 ounces.  If the boxes get too full they will bulge once frozen, and no longer stack neatly in the freezer.

One and a half large grocery bags full of corn made 15 pounds of corn for the freezer.  When labeling and folding the boxes, we estimate one box for every four ears.