Our corn is finally coming in and ready for harvest. This year we grew the G-90 corn for the first time. The G-90 is an Su, or standard variety of sweet corn, such as Jubilee and Silver Queen. The drawback of the Su variety is the lower sugar content. They only have about 9% sugar which means a short shelf-life, only 1 to 2 days, so it is important to process them as soon as they are harvested.

Preservation

Once you’ve harvested your corn you need to either eat it or have a way to preserve it so that it doesn’t go bad or spoil on you. There’s nothing quite like watching your crops grow and flourish with high yield only to have it spoil because you couldn’t save it after harvest.

The best thing to do is to have a plan. Your plan needs to cover from planting all the way past harvest to include how you plan on using your crop. If you are growing corn to keep for your family then there needs to be a plan for preservation of your harvest.

There are 3 ways to preserve your corn; canning, corn-on-the-cob, and freezing.

When you can your corn you have to cut the kernels from the ear and either raw pack or heat pack them. If you heat-pack you will have to use a pressure cooker.

The on the cob method tends to lose texture and flavor after a few months so it is the least desirable method of preservation. It also takes up the most room in your freezer so the ease is typically not worth it when you end up with a freezer full of corn that has no flavor.

When using the freezing method you cut the kernels off, as with the canning method, or cream the corn.

Freezing Your Corn

The method that the folks here at Hoss prefer is the freezing method after creaming the corn. It's not the easiest way to preserve corn but it has the best results and will last much longer for you.

Once you have harvested your corn you need to shuck and silk the ears, meaning you need to remove the protective leaves and then remove the silky fibers on the end of the ear. 

Silking brushes are the best way to remove the fibers and we have one for $7.99 that will make that job extremely easy. Use a back and forth motion along with the corn while slowly rotating it to make sure you remove all the fibers. Don't use too much pressure as you can burst the kernels.

Once you've silked your corn you'll want to wash the ears well and let the excess water dry off completely. You don't want extra water when you cream corn.

Next, you want to use a knife and barely cut the tops off the kernels, cutting away from yourself and into your pan or bowl. Once you've removed the tops off of the kernels you will use the back of the knife to scrape the cream out of the kernels. 

Once you've creamed your corn you will need to blanch it. Blanching is important because it will stop the natural enzyme actions and promote a better flavor. This process can be done before you cream if that works better for you. Simply boil your corn for 10 minutes, let it cool, then cream it. For this process, however, we blanch in the microwave after the creaming step. You'll want to use 50% power for 10 minutes, stir, then repeat. When the corn is ready the color will be more vibrant. 

Take the blanched corn, let it cool off, and place it in a freezer container. If done correctly, your freshly processed corn will last up to 2 years. Make sure to label your storage container with the date so you can keep track of its time in the freezer.

Product of the Week

Corn Silking Brush

Sweet Corn Varieties