FREEZING CORN

Steps:

• 1. Select fresh, tender ears in the milk stage. Strip only the outer shucks from your corn.
• 2. Then trim the bottom and top ends...removing the darker silk and any wormy corn if necessary. (You can break the stem end by hand or trim with a knife). You'll get the hang of it.
• 3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Put the corn, still in the shucks, into the boiling water; return to a boil. Cook covered for 7 to 10 minutes. If you go over your time a little it won't hurt...your corn will just be more done.
• 4. Carefully remove the hot corn to a large bowl or the kitchen sink and run cold water over the corn. As the corn is cooling and when it can be handled, begin to remove the shucks and silks. You'll discover that the silks are very easy to remove.
• 5. Continue cooling your corn by adding some ice to the water. After cooling, I remove it to a collander to drain. But you can just remove it from the water to a bowl or your counter top.
• 6. Next, cut the kernels off with a knife or use a corn cutter. I've done it both ways and I like using a knife. The one I use is a small serrated Rader® knife. But I have used a fillet knife. Whatever you use, be careful not to cut your hand. (A potato peeler could also be used instead of a knife). After cutting off the kernels, scrape over the corn cob with your knife. The corn can also be left whole for corn on the cob. Also, at this point...try to resist the temptation to eat too much of it...it is soooo good.
• 7. After cutting off the corn, place it on cookie sheets or in pans and place it in your freezer for approximately 20 to 30 minutes and possibly up to 45 minutes. The amount of time it takes to cool the corn at this stage will depend on how thick you layer it in your pans. This cooling step is very important if you want the most delicious tasting corn you can have. If corn is put into freezer bags before it is cooled properly, it will taste bad after a few months. If you have a lot of corn to put up you'll be doing these steps in batches. So if you get too busy and forget about it that's okay...it may just freeze your hands to handle it.
• 8. Remove the pans of corn from the freezer and measure into freezer bags or containers that you have properly labeled. Remove as much air as possible from bags, etc. Freeze corn at 0 degrees or lower. Corn processed in this way is almost ready to eat when you take it out of the freezer. All you have to do is heat it.