How to preserve sweet corn for your freezer? This is the easiest way to do it, in my opinion! Only a few ingredients and supplies are needed – fresh sweet corn, sugar, water, freezer bags, knives, cutting boards and a good attitude! Feel good about preserving the taste of local goodness for your family to enjoy all year. There is nothing better out there then the taste of freezer sweet corn.
How to preserve sweet corn? Get good help!
My #1 tip on preserving sweet corn for the freezer is to find good help. Especially if planning to process large batches. It takes so much time to shuck, get the hairs off, cut the kernels and then process – not to mention the mess.
I prefer putting up sweet corn with a group of friends and family with an ice cold beer. This year, you can see I have my mom and daughter Hope helping. We did about 20 dozen!
How to make preserving corn easier?
There are many tools out there on the market claiming to make processing sweet corn easier – it IS a big job. This year, I did purchase a few different affordable options to try out and see what I thought. The hardest part in my opinion is cutting the kernels – by the end my wrist and hands are sore and there is a good chance I have accidentally cut myself from getting tired of cutting. Overall my favorite took I tried was this Corn Peeler – it literally felt like the corn kernels were just gliding right off.
Another option we tried included using a drill. It was called a ‘kernel kutter‘. Personally, I felt the simple hand tool above was quicker – even though that drill would help cut those kernels off in literally seconds. It took a little bit longer to get the cob attached to the drill, and then un-attach it when it was done. I also felt that some times the kernels did not come off clean. HOWEVER – I could totally see this being a useful tool if you have teenage boys helping you to make it seem more ‘fun’. If you are going this route – make sure to have a large tub or 5 gallon bucket to remove the kernels on- they splash everywhere! (it comes with the bit, but not the drill, fyi!)
Other recommendations for easy freezer corn
Make sure to shuck that corn ASAP! The longer you wait- the less sweet it will be. Strive to get it all processed the day it is purchased or the next day at the latest. Again, this is why it helps to have a large group helping you! If you cannot get it processed that same day- try to store it in the crisper of your fridge or in a cool place if the husk is still on.
How much corn do you get from one ear?
This differs depending on ear size, but on average, 3/4 cup of corn kernels per ear. For 1 batch in this recipe you would need roughly 2 dozen ears, however I would strongly suggest buying a few more ears than that just in case. It really depends on the variety and the year.
Where to find fresh sweet corn?
While most grocery stores have sweet corn during the summer months, I prefer to purchase from a local farmer. Usually, you can find them in town at different parking lots or farmers markets. I don’t remember ever having a bad experience with local sweet corn, but I DO know I have had poor sweet corn from chain grocery stores in the past. I would call ahead as a courtesy if you intend to purchase large batches of sweet corn from small farmers, just in case!
Recipes that use freezer corn
You can substitute homemade freezer corn for any other recipe that asks for corn (it will taste WAYY better anyways!). Here is my creamy crockpot corn recipe that is perfect for the holidays, and tastes amazing with homemade sweet corn.
I also think this Mexican Street Corn dip looks amazing, but I have not tried it myself yet.
Is it cheaper to preserve your own freezer corn?
Depends. Sometimes, you can find a really good deal on corn (especially later in the season) and then it could definitely be more affordable. However the time you put into it is not accounted in that pricing – and there is a lot of time put in (time is money!). I don’t think homemade freezer corn will ever beat the price of a 64 cent canned corn, but the quality is WORTH IT. Plus, you know exactly where the corn came from, and who processed it.
What to do with the husks and cobs?
What we do is feed the husks to our cattle, and the cobs to our chickens. The chickens love the cobs (cows would eat the cobs, too). It’s a great way to make use of the entire product. If you don’t have animals- maybe your neighbor or friend has backyard chickens, etc.!
My chickens would not eat the husks, and you do need to throw the cobs out eventually, but the chickens will clean them up well.
Follow Along for more recipes and farm adventures
If you try this recipe please comment and rate below or tag ‘Recipes from French Creek’ in your social media. We love to hear from you! Looking for another healthier recipe? Try this Healthy Pumpkin Chili.
Follow ‘Recipes from French Creek’ on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest for more recipe inspiration!
How to Preserve Sweet Corn
Equipment
- 1 cutting board
- 8 quart or pint sized freezer bags
- 1 sharp knife for cutting corn
- 1 6 quart pot
- measuring utensils
- corn prep peeler optional but handy!
Instructions
- This will make approximately 16 cups of corn to freeze. You can freeze it in increments how you please – my family freezes in 2 cup increments.
- On average, an ear of sweet corn will yield around 3/4 cups of corn. A batch is 16 cups – this would be about 2 dozen ears, but grab a few extra just in case your ears are smaller then average.
- Next shuck the corn. Do it that same day if possible. The longer the time to process the corn, the less sweet it will taste. If you cannot shuck it the day-of purchasing then do it no later than the next day.
- Once all the husks are removed it is time to pick off the silk hairs that are left over, use a clean dish towel to help get any tricky silk hairs from the ear. Running the towel along the ears helps catch some of the hairs. Don't worry about getting every single hair – it's not possible.
- Next, use a cutting board and knife (or the handy corn cutter recommended in the equipment section) to remove the kernels from the cob. You want to get as much as the kernel off of the cob as possible.
- Once all the kernels are removed from the cobs, measure 16 cups of corn and put in a large pot. Add 4 cups of water and 1/2 cup of sugar. Stir, put the lid on the pot, and heat on medium high heat.
- Once the corn is brought to a boil, turn off the heat and dump the corn into a large casserole dish to cool for about 45 minutes.
- After the corn has cooled, get your freezer bags out and start dividing the corn into the bags in your preferred amounts. Label and freeze flat.
- Ready to eat it? Just thaw and reheat on stove or microwave.
Leave a Reply