Find three ways to freeze corn, the pros and cons of each, and which may work best for you: unblanched (or uncooked) on the cob, unblanched cut kernels and blanched cut kernels – plus get ideas on the best ways to cook with them.
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Whether you grow your own corn or you find a deal at a farm or store, there probably comes a time when youve eaten all you can – either on the cob or in recipes like zucchini, corn & tomato sauté with feta or lick-the-plate creamy fresh baked corn – and you want to preserve the rest.
The easiest way to put up a good amount of corn is to freeze it. Its also the way I find it to be most versatile – frozen corn makes a fresh-tasting sauté with peppers and onions, a sausage-corn chowder, and even a delicious roasted corn salsa.
So I experimented for a year to see how we liked our corn when frozen, trying three different ways to freeze corn.
Well, you can freeze corn without blanching first, but its not as clear-cut as green beans or snap peas. I actually found I like to have corn on hand thats been frozen three different ways:
Any way you decide to do it, having corn in the freezer thats been frozen at the height of flavor is a wonderful thing!
Blanching is a must The natural enzymes in corn need to be inactivated before freezing to prevent both loss of color and nutrients, and flavor and texture changes. These enzymes are inactivated by a hot blanch treatment. The chilling process prevents the corn from becoming mushy due to overcooking the starch.
Uncooked Corn Kernels
This is the second easiest method, since you dont need to cook the corn first:
- Shuck and cut the kernels off the cob into a large bowl.
- Spoon kernels into freezer baggies (or containers), remove as much air as possible (I use my handy straw), seal and freeze.
Pros: No need to cook first, just cut and package. The corn is then ready for any recipe calling for uncooked corn with no danger of overcooking.
Cons: Corn that has been frozen this way definitely has a different texture than blanched corn and we found that it needs to be cooked to use – this isnt the way to freeze corn that youd like to use in salads or fresh bean & corn salsas.
TIP: The package of corn pictured above is a year-old baggie of frozen corn and you can see that it looks great still and the straw sealer worked well!
Best ways to use unblanched or uncooked cut corn:
- Sauté in a bit of butter with additions of chopped onions or peppers if desired.
- Bacon and Corn Saute: cook 3-4 strips of bacon until crisp, remove to a towel-lined plate to drain and cook 2-3 cups of corn kernels in the hot bacon grease until done, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve with reserved bacon crumbled on top.
- Add to soups and stews like this black bean soup or any recipe where the corn will cook with other ingredients, like this sausage-corn tart or this bacon-corn tart or these delicious stuffed zucchinis.
- Roast it! Just add it to a lined sheet pan -frozen – and roast at 400 degrees until browned. Season how you like, or make a delicious corn salsa.
Unblanched Whole Cobs
This is the easiest and quickest method:
- Shuck, add to freezer bags, extract air, and toss in the freezer.
Pro: It takes literally minutes, which is why theres always a few corn cobs in our freezer.Cons: The cobs arent as easy to use as cut kernels in recipes or to sauté. And the cooked corn on the cob, while picture-perfect (right photo above) and fun to have in the depths of winter, is a little chewy and watery.
Best way to cook frozen whole cobs*:
- Bring a large pot of water to boil.
- Drop frozen ears of corn into boiling water.
- Cook for 3-5 minutes or until done to your liking.
*A reader suggested this cooking method as a way to keep the cobs from getting soggy, and though we still found they were a bit watery, it is the best way to cook them I think.
The other two methods require you to remove the kernels from the corn cobs.
Here are some tips Ive learned when freezing kernels:
-Storage. Use quart-size freezer baggies rather than jars or containers, since you can get a lot of air out of them with a straw and they stack with little waste of space in the freezer.
-Minimize Mess. Ive tried a lot of ways to minimize the mess when cutting the kernels off the cobs – regular cutting board, tube cake pan method, special corn cob cutters, etc. – but in the end I always return to my trusty over-the-sink cutting board with a drain/hole in one side. I can place a large bowl under the hole and simply slide the kernels into the bowl as I cut and since its over the sink, most of the mess is contained.
Here are a few examples from Amazon that are similar to my over-the-counter board:
Best reviewed plastic over-the-sink cutting board.
For those whod like a wood option (there arent many), this pretty over-the-sink cutting board has the best reviews (you need to keep this maintained with oil).
What happens if you don’t blanch corn before freezing?
FAQ
Does water have to be boiling to blanch corn?
Can you freeze corn on the cob uncooked?
Can you microwave corn instead of blanching it to freeze?
Is it OK to freeze corn without blanching?
Can you freeze corn if you Blanch it?
Blanching corn helps improve the texture and color during freezing. Blanching is a process in which vegetables are lowered into boiling water for a specific time. The vegetables are subsequently dropped into ice water to quickly cool, then dried and placed in freezer containers. Freezing slows down enzyme processes, but it doesn’t stop them.
Can you freeze unblanched corn on the cob?
In reality, freezing unblanched corn on the cob is the simplest way to freeze corn as it is a process that does not take the extra time that blanching does: The corn preparatory process separates the husk from the cob by pulling it from the corn to reveal the corn cob. A damp paper towel can be helpful to wipe off and remove the excess silk.
Why is corn mushy if not blanched before freezing?
This is because the process of blanching destroys enzymes that can change the flavor, texture, and even the color of vegetables, including corn, during their time in the freezer. Corn that has not been blanched before freezing can become chewy (and sometimes downright mushy) once it’s thawed.
How long does it take to Blanch corn?
Plus, it helps remove dirt and keeps your corn bright and yellow. Start off by shucking and removing the corn silk, then you’ll want to bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the corn cobs into the boiling water to blanch them. It should take 7 minutes for small cobs, 9 minutes for medium cobs and 11 minutes for large cobs.