Corn

[exasperatus2002]

Does anyone grow their own sweet corn? How long does it keep once harvested and is there a good way to freeze it so it still tastes good? last year at my old place I had a tree rat (squirrel) problem and of the 20 corn plants started they left me with 7 seedlings. This year at the new house I bought with a large veggie garden, I started the seed indoors and planted when 6" high. I didnt have a tree rat problem and now have 50 stalks of corn. What a delicious dilema.

[mayres]

I work for a company that processes up to 60 TONS of sweet corn PER FACILITY (3) PER HOUR! And yes, I have grown it in my own garden too, but why? The sooner you can eat it after harvesting the better it will be. It will keep for several days in your refrigerator, but will never be as good as just after harvesting. Freezing at home is a dilemna because the key to good quality frozen corn is freezing FAST. We freezer corn to zero degrees in cut form in about 5 minutes. This keeps the cell structure intact and gives you good near fresh corn texture when thawed (if it hasn't been temperature abused thereafter). If you freeze it slow large ice crystals will form and the cell structure will be broken down and it will be soft/mushy. It also will need to be blanched for about 2 minutes to inactivate enzymes - steaming would be your best bet - but it needs to be thin enough to get even penetration through the entire "pile" of product. Immediately after steaming you put it into freezing cold water to draw out the heat and then place in your freezer - probably the best bet would be in a thin layer on a cookie sheet or something similar - and then bag when frozen. Note - you will NEVER get home frozen quality to match commercial frozen quality - the equipment and technology is just not available. Enjoy your corn!

[Ron]

Hi.
As Mayres stated it does not freeze too good.
The corn is the most sweetest within an hour of harvesting.
When I plant my crop I try to put about 6 seeds in ever week for about 5 weeks in early spring.
this was hopefully I can spread the picking season by several weeks and enjoy sweet corn in its best.
When the family was growing up (3 kids) we loved the sweet corn season.
I use to grow it over a period of several months so each week we had some freshly picked corn to eat.
best to pick it when the small end seeds are plump and when you poke with your finger the ooze with juices
Grilled or boiled it was lovely.
Cheerio
Ron

[exasperatus2002]

I almost alway grill it. pull the husk back, remove the silk, rub on the butter, put the husk back up and grill. Just had some tonight with mesquite marinaded chicken breasts and green beans. Mmmm. Even my 14 month old daughter said yum when she ate some.

[evagentry]

Hi, I grow sweet corn every year and put quite a bit in the freezer,husk the corn, put it in a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes, then put it in cold water right away to cool it, cut the kernals off the cob, seal in freezer bags and store in the freezer.We enjoy it very much all winter long. Good luck!