How to Freeze Corn for the Summer

For frozen corn off the cob (if you picked the corn yourself):

So, we’ll start out with if you picked the corn yourself. My family and I did actually go to a neighbor’s farm and pick the leftover corn on the cob. This is a messy way to do it, but it’s really a fun way that I would definitely recommend. It creates good family time and provides a lot of laughs.

The first thing you have to do is husk the corn, obviously. While you’re husking, check for worms. If you do find a worm hole, then just take a knife and chop off the entire ear up until that worm hole, or, if the worm hole is towards the bottom, just chop off from the bottom up past the worm hole. Either direction you go, the point is to remove the worm hole from the whole. Then, just chop off a little bit from the top of the ear of corn (or, if there is a bad spot at the top, remove the entire bad spot). This may seem like you’re losing a lot of corn this way, but bear in mind that if corn is fresh-picked then there is no guarantee that you’ll be getting the firsts you would get in stores, so it’s necessary to remove large chunks sometimes.

Next, you’re going to want to have an assembly line going on this one, if it’s possible. One person can do it all, or you can do each step one at a time, but it’s easier if you can have several people helping out and have one or two at each station.

The first station is at the stove. You need to put the ears of corn into boiling water (yes, that means the water should be boiling before the corn goes in it) and let them cook for just five minutes.

The second station is at the sink. After the corn has been cooked for five minutes, take it out and put it in cool water so that it will cool down a bit. This is sort of a double station because after it’s cooled for a couple of minutes, it can be taken out of the water and put in a strainer or on a paper towel to dry off a little.

The third station is at a table or counter, where the corn will be cut off the cob. A good knife is necessary for this, and maybe a cutting board, or at least a hard surface. The easiest way to do it is to stand the ear of corn on end with the bottom on the table and then slice along the side of it with the knife from top to bottom. Don’t cut too deep into the ear or you’ll get the cob in with the kernels of corn, but don’t cut too shallow either because then you’ll leave a lot of corn behind. It’ll take a little while to get used to this sort of awkward way of cutting, but after a while you’ll know how deep to cut.

After the kernels are off the cob, put them in sandwich bag containers. I would suggest putting only about enough for one or two meals in each bag so then you won’t have too much left over after you cook it and eat it for a meal, since you have to cook an entire bag at once.

For frozen corn off the cob (store bought):

This saves you a little of the time and hassle. You will do everything the same as above, but you do not have to check for worms and you shouldn’t have to cut off too many bad spots.

For frozen corn on the cob:

This way is by far the easiest. Wrap the cobs up in plastic wrap, or even put them in a large sandwich bag, and put them in the freezer.

To cook corn off the cob:

The best way to do this is to put the corn in the fridge a day or two before you plan to cook it to let it thaw. It makes it easier to get out of the bag that way, but this step isn’t entirely necessary. If you want to cook it straight from the freezer, just put a pan on the stove, slice the bottom of the bag of corn, and put the corn in the pan with the bottom down. The heat will thaw it, and it should come easily out of the bag as long as you’ve fully opened it.

To cook corn on the cob:

Before you cook this, you have to give it time to thaw. Take it out of the freezer and place the cobs on some sheets of paper towel. This makes it so that the corn won’t be soggy after you thaw it. Then just cook it like you would cook regular corn. It’ll taste just as good!