One of my favourite tastes of summer is sweet corn. I’ve been buying fresh corn from a local farm gate and we’ve been enjoying it almost daily, on the cob either barbecued or steamed and as kernels in soups, stir-fries, frittatas and fresh in salads.
Sadly the sweet corn season is nearing an end. From April, the price of Australian sweet corn starts to climb and unpackaged fresh sweet corn becomes rare.
Luckily, it’s easy to preserve a little bit of summer’s flavour by freezing corn.
When freezing corn it’s important to start with fresh corn on the cob – as fresh as you can get. The husks should be green and not dried out.
You’re more likely to find the fresh stuff at a greengrocer, farmers market or farm gate – rather than at the supermarket where you’ll likely only find dehusked and trimmed packaged corn.
Removing the husks is a job I do outside to save myself having to clean up the thousands of silks that scatter everywhere when husking.
I appreciate the resultant pile of waste husks and cobs almost as much as the sweet kernels in my freezer. Corn husks are a favourite food for our guinea pigs and our chooks love pecking the remnant corn from the cobs.
{thats not ‘remnant corn’ – this keen chook is photobombing my sweet corn photo shoot}
Corn, like any vegetable, needs to be briefly steamed or boiled prior to freezing.
This blanching destroys enzymes that would otherwise cause gradual decay and helps to maintain colour, texture and flavour.
Corn can be frozen on the cob or as kernels. I prefer freezing kernels because they take up far less freezer space.
I use a sharp knife to cut the kernels from the cob; bring a large pot of water to the boil; and fill a large bowl with cool water.
The kernels are boiled for about two minutes, poured into a strainer and then tipped in the cold water to cool.
If I’m blanching multiple batches I save the hot water in a bowl to pour back into the pot for the next batch and do the same with the cold water – adding ice cubes to cool when needed.
Drying the corn on a tea towel stops the kernels from sticking together.
I freeze them in glass freezer proof containers, but zip-lock freezer bags are another option.
I love the idea of pulling sweet corn from summer out of the freezer in the middle of winter.
[Originally published in the The Newcastle Herald 27th April 2013]
