Corn

I had a realization this week that I return to work on Monday! I've been working a lot this summer on school stuff and we've been busy with traveling and doing fun stuff with the kids and it seems like our summer FLEW by!. The funny thing is that the realization that I came to didn't have to do with the fact that I am sad the summer is over (although I am so sad and wanting time to stand still), but more that I haven't got my canning and freezing done! I have been freezing tomatoes all summer, but that is easy. I made a few jars of jam in the spring when strawberries were in, but no blackberry or peach! And most importantly, I hadn't done ANY corn. This is a biggie! We freeze corn EVERY summer and enjoy it weekly throughout the entire year. I only have 5 bags left from last summer and NONE from this summer. So my realization was that I needed to get busy! I roped my mom into helping me because as easy as corn is to freeze, it is a lot of work and definitely more fun when you are doing it with friends and family! So, I drove to the farmer's market and bought 10 dozen corn.

Typically, mom and I spread out the corn freezing in 5 dozen batches to make it a little more manageable and less overwhelming. But with a goal of doing 60 quarts and only 5 days left of summer, I was desperate. We shucked it (with the help of the kids and daddy)and got to work. Every time someone asks me about my corn (I like to take it to potlucks, friends houses for a side dish, families who have just had babies, or families who have had surgery, ect.)they ask about the corn. I explain just how easy it is! So I thought I would blog about it to show you just how easy it is! We started shucking the corn about 12:30 and I finished the last bag and cleaned the kitchen at 4:25. So 10 dozen took us about 4 hours total start to finish.(A special note, I usually get my pots of water started while I am shucking, because there is nothing worse than waiting for pots of water to boil after you have spent all of the time shucking!)

After you shuck all (or most) of your corn, put the corn into the boiling water.  Fill the pot with as many cobs as you can before it is too crowded and make sure water is mostly over them.  Cover them up with the lid.  Once the water comes back to a rapid boil, leave the corn for 5-8 minutes.  

Remove the corn from the boiling water and place in a sink of ice water.

(Pic to come soon, can't seem to find it on my computer at the moment.)

Once the corn has cooled in the ice water, remove it and begin cutting the corn off the cob.  My mom and I found this amazing idea to use an bundt pan to collect all of the corn.  We tried it and it is a very good idea!  It keeps all of the kernels in the pan instead of all over your counter.  

Then cut the corn off the cob.  My mom prefers to cut the corn off the old fashioned way with a sharp knife, I have discovered this little tool.  I got it from my local Kitchen Creations store for $5.99!  What a great little tool it is!!  You can check it out here.  

After you get the corn cut off, you can fill your choice of ziplock bag.  We have tried all sizes of bags but have discovered that quart size bags are the most reasonable for us.  

And then here is your finished product!

Just about 20 quarts.  (We squeezed in a few extra to some of the bags.)  If I do a little math, that comes to about 6 ears a bag.  (6 ears X 20 bags=120 ears total).  It also means that for us, at $4.00 a dozen, each bag comes out to be about $2.00 a bag.  Not cheaper than buying it in the store, but better than you could possibly imagine!!!

Juli