How to freeze corn for the winter

How to freeze corn for the winter

When a massive corn harvest comes, there is a specific aroma of boiled corn on the market or in many apartments. And it seems it will always be like this. But winter is coming, and corn can be bought only in canned form or frozen, a bag which is expensive.

But corn can be frozen at home. Of course, if there is a roomy freezer. And then all winter you can feast on boiled corn, as well as cook tasty and healthy dishes from it.

Corn lends itself well to freezing, and spoil it with this method of preparation for the future is almost impossible.

Preparing corn for freezing

For freezing, corn cobs of sugar varieties of milky-wax ripeness are suitable until the grain has hardened.

If the corn is not ripe enough, the grains will not be so tasty. And if the corn has re-burnt, and the grains have already become hard, then no cooking will help to fix it.

For freezing use recently removed corn cobs, as with long storage the taste of corn worsens considerably. This is because the sugars contained in the grains are gradually transformed into starch.

If the pre-boiled corn is frozen, the cobs of late dairy ripening are also suitable.

Cobs should not be damaged by pests or disease. They should not be signs of rot. Before freezing, cut off the stem from the ears, tear off the leaves and hairs. Then the cobs are well washed and laid out on a towel to drain water.

Sometimes a few leaves are left on the cob so that the cob is wrapped in them. To do this, the top leaves break off, the rest are folded out, cut off hairs, and then the leaves return to their place.

How to freeze corn on the cob

Method 1. At the cob cut the stalk, cut off the leaves, remove hairs. The ear is well washed and dried on a towel.

Dry corn cobs - several pieces or individually - are packed in plastic bags, tied or zip-fastened, after removing air from the bag, and placed in a freezer for freezing.

Method 2. Prepared cobs are dipped in boiling water and blanched for about half a minute.

Then take out the corn and immediately immersed in ice water for about the same time. Thanks to such actions, the corn cools rapidly, and the grains do not shrivel or deform.

Then the cobs are dried on a towel, and then packed in plastic bags with a zip-lock or tied and put into a freezer.

Not blanched frozen corn cobs before using can be thawed, without defrosting, into boiling water and cook until the grains are soft. Cooking time (25-40 minutes) depends on the degree of ripeness and variety of corn. If the cobs were blanched before freezing, then before using them it is enough to dip them in boiling salted water and just bring them to the boil. Or boil a few more minutes to the softness of the grains.

How to freeze corn in grains

For this, corn on the cob is dipped in boiling water and blanched for five to seven minutes. Then the cobs are immediately transferred to a basin with ice water, kept for five minutes, removed and dried on a towel.

Thanks to this method, corn kernels are easily separated from the cob.

Grains are separated from the cob in two ways.

Method 1. A sharp knife cut the grain along the cob, trying not to touch it.

Method 2. Husk the seeds manually. This procedure, though long, but the grains are obtained whole. This method is good if you freeze one or two cobs. But when freezing corn in bulk, it is better (and easier) to apply the first method.

The prepared grains are laid out in one layer on a tray and placed in a freezer for 1-2 hours.

When the grains are frozen, they are poured into portion packets, well tied or sealed. For quick freezing packages give a flat shape. Then put them in the freezer for further storage.

Corn kernels can be frozen at once. To do this, pour in the bag so many grains that they lay in it in one layer. The package is well closed and cleaned in the freezer. This method will not allow the grains to freeze each other. When the frozen corn kernels are needed for cooking, they will not need to be cooked for a long time, since they have already undergone preliminary heat treatment. Without defrosting, they are put in boiling water and brought to readiness.

Corn in grains can be brought to readiness in a microwave oven or in a slow cooker, using any recipe you like.

The shelf life of frozen corn is 6-8 months.

Corn, like all other vegetables, can not be re-frozen. Therefore, it is immediately packaged in such a way as to be used at one time.

Frozen corn is prepared in the same way as fresh. With the only difference that frozen corn cooks faster.

To freeze corn for the winter, you can choose any of the methods proposed above, since they all retain useful properties in corn and do not affect its taste.

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