blanching sweet corn or no

[joed2323]

Ok, I'm getting ready to start pulling ambrosia and I want to freeze a ton of them since I have enough and then some.

There is mixed feelings of people that say blanch your sweet corn before you
put in the freezer. Some people say just leave the corn in the husk and put into the freezer like this, and the husk will prevent freezer burn.

What would you guys suggest??

It just seems odd to boil the corn/blanch it for a short time then stick into freezer, I cant see how that seals the flavor but thats why I'm asking these silly questions...

Obviously cutting and blanching sweet corn then putting them into freezer bags would probably save the most room in the freezer vs corn still in the husk...

Thanks in advance. Joe

[luvthesnapper]

According to the ball blue book, "It's a critical step in preparing vegetables for freezing, and is a "must" for a veggies that will be frozen for more than 4 weeks."

It keeps texture, crispness, ans shrinks the product for better packing.

[lily51]

We prepare our corn by putting husked ears in boiling water for about 5 min., then into cold water until it can be handled(I transfer it from one side of sink to next a couple times, then cut off cob and freeze.
Be sure to get as much air out of bags as possible to prevent freezer burn.
Enjoy! Ambrosia is delicious!

[SOB]

I will second (third?) what was said above.

Also what part of the UP. I have family in Houghton...was just up there in June. Beautiful country!

[joed2323]

houghton is 100 or so miles further north of me. I'm near the mi/wi border, about 45 minutes north of Menominee Mi and say 30 minutes west of escanaba mi.

Why do you guys blanch the corn on the husk? then remove the husk after blanching??? seems like a preference thing??

[jal_ut]

Frozen corn: Husk, blanch for 5 minutes in boiling water. Have the water boiling before putting the corn in and start timing immediately. Take it out of the hot water and put into ice water. When it is cooled, cut it from the cobs, bag and freeze.

No use taking up freezer space with cobs you are not going to eat anyway.
Yes, blanching stops the enzyme action and the corn will remain excellent for a couple of years in the freezer.

[Bobberman]

I blanch the corn in boiling water for about 3 min then cut from the cob! I eat what is left from cutting off the cob and I seem to get some delicious corn even after only 3 min in boiling water. I have kept corn well over a year and its as sweet as when I put it in the freezer. Freezing slows the sugar from turning to starch but without blanching the process starch increases and the corn looses its sweetness in a few month where as blanching allows a much longer freezer time! Keeping corn on the cob seems to make it soggy when cooked later. Long John Silver serves sweet corn on the cob which is taste but soggy!

[joed2323]

It seems like the majority prefer to cut the corn from the cob, doesnt anyone like to pull a cob out of the freezer and eat it the good ol fashioned way???

[jal_ut]

No. It is just not the same as a freshly cooked cob just out of the garden. Like I said also, who wants to take up freezer space with a cob that you are not going to eat anyway?

[Gary350]

If I were going to freeze corn I would not blanch it in boiling water. Put it in ICE water for about 15 minutes. Then you can freeze it on the cob or cut it off. What you want to do is stop the sugars from turning to starch. Corn can loose 95% of it flavor in 30 minutes after it has been picked. Boiling water will stop it and so will ice water. No point it raising the temperature of the corn to 212 degrees if you intend to freeze it, its a total waste of time energy.

When canning in mason jars I cut it off the cob after a 5 minute boil.

[DoubleDogFarm]

No use taking up freezer space with cobs you are not going to eat anyway.
Yes, blanching stops the enzyme action and the corn will remain excellent for a couple of years in the freezer.

This is why. Fresher looking and tasting for a longer period of time.

Eric

[TheWaterbug]

Corn can lose 95% of it flavor in 30 minutes after it has been picked.

I keep seeing "statistics" like this all over the internet, but does anyone have actual scientific data, like measured sugar/starch ratios over time, that validate this?

[Jeremy brua]

If I were going to freeze corn I would not blanch it in boiling water. Put it in ICE water for about 15 minutes. Then you can freeze it on the cob or cut it off. What you want to do is stop the sugars from turning to starch. Corn can loose 95% of it flavor in 30 minutes after it has been picked. Boiling water will stop it and so will ice water. No point it raising the temperature of the corn to 212 degrees if you intend to freeze it, its a total waste of time energy.

When canning in mason jars I cut it off the cob after a 5 minute boil.

My grandmother would take a big pot of boiling water out into the field with her. As soon as the cob was pulled from the stalk it was husked and in the pot it went. She would always tell me "if you trip and fall on your way to the kitchen with the corn through it out and tdy again."

What a guy told me to do when I worked on a sweet corn farm was to blanch the corn for a few min. Then place them up right in a card board milk carton with the top cut off and cover with water and freeze. After it was frozen you could run it under hot water and slide the frozen block out right into a pot and reheat. But I'm not sure they still have card board milk cartons.

[joed2323]

I agree with waterbug about the statistics.
This is a subject that everyone has different views on.

I'm not sure if there is one right or wrong way, just ways different people prefer to handle their corn...

[Ohio Tiller]

Canning you can use the raw or cold pack metod but if your freezing you have to blance it or it will go south on you as far as flavor. My wife froze a bunch last year and we just had some last night and it was just as good as it was the day we put it in the freezer.

[Dillbert]

Corn can lose 95% of it flavor in 30 minutes after it has been picked.

I keep seeing "statistics" like this all over the internet, but does anyone have actual scientific data, like measured sugar/starch ratios over time, that validate this?

the data probably does exist - but what is lacking in the debate is the timing.

once upon a time there was yellow sweet corn
then came the marvel of white sweet corn - the big "silver queen" fad
oops, then came SE (sugar enhanced)
my bad oops II: SSE
dang! an oops III: sh2

so yeah without question the "old stuff" sugar declined lots faster than the "new stuff"
how many minutes required for each..... sounds like a googlething.....

my grandfather would not pick his corn until the water was at a boil.
he was born in 1897 - he wasn't all too familar with some of the letters . . .

[Brandywinegirl]

Instead of using milk cartons, couldn't you use gallon zip lock bags and fill them with water before freezing? I do that with my green beans and they taste so fresh when I cook them months later.

[jal_ut]

My son has a sugar meter. He says the corn off his patch fresh has close to 30% sugar. He tested some from the supremarket for camparison and it came up about 2%.

I will have to ask him to test some against time to see how that goes.

[Brandywinegirl]

Wow!! I picked four cobs that were ready - saw some little flying black bugs coming out. I grew bi-color corn & it was the softest, sweetest corn I had ever eaten!! I am going to put some drops of oil on the rest of the silks left to keep the worms out - I saw one or two.. I will grow corn every year from now on if I have the space.

[TheWaterbug]

I will have to ask him to test some against time to see how that goes.

Looking forward to it! The fate of free world (well, the sweet-corn-eating part of it, anyway) hangs in the balance!