It is Nonetheless Peak Corn Season—Right here’s the Smarter, Simpler Method to Save It

This web site is not identified for its brevity—once we sort out a culinary query, we go deep, take a look at methodically, and clarify our outcomes. This text could also be a welcome change of tempo, as a result of there’s solely a lot one can say about freezing corn. It is quite simple and simple.

So, this is what you should know to protect that summer time sweetness for weeks or months after the final cob has made an look on the farm stand.

Why and When to Freeze Corn

Why freeze corn? To protect it, in fact. However there’s much more urgency than that. The pure sugars in candy corn shortly convert to extra complicated starches, so if you end up with extra corn than you may fairly eat in a day or two, or for those who simply need to protect as a lot of it as attainable to get pleasure from different occasions of 12 months, freezing is your only option.

Freezing Entire Ears Vs. Kernels

More often than not, you are higher off chopping the kernels off the cob earlier than freezing (comply with our directions for find out how to lower off the kernels with minimal mess). First, this protects area, because you’re eradicating the cobs earlier than freezing, permitting for rather more corn to be saved than for those who froze the ears complete. Second, in most situations, frozen corn is greatest utilized in dishes that solely require the kernels—when you can eat a defrosted and reheated ear of corn, it is not as fulfilling as consuming one contemporary. The kernels, although, work nice in all types of dishes, from casseroles to salads, soups, stews, baked items, and extra.

One other benefit of freezing simply the kernels: As a result of they’re smaller, they freeze sooner. That is a great factor, as a result of the sooner they freeze, the smaller the ice crystals are that kind inside them, main to higher preservation of texture (bigger ice crystals do extra cell harm, resulting in softer, mushier outcomes).

Ought to You Blanch First or Not?

It typically is sensible to blanch greens earlier than packing them away for a protracted, deep freeze—blanching inactivates enzymes that may result in a loss in produce high quality over time. I ran side-by-side checks with contemporary summer time corn to see if I may inform a distinction between blanched* and uncooked frozen corn by freezing samples of each, then defrosting and tasting them a number of weeks later.

* I ought to make clear, I did not technically blanch my corn, which might imply boiling it, however as an alternative used my cold-start, no-boil method for extra exact temperature management and higher outcomes.

I will be trustworthy: I could not inform them aside. The uncooked corn tasted simply as candy and tender because the par-cooked. That is partly because of the ice crystals that do kind throughout freezing—even when they’re smaller due to the speedy freezing of the corn kernels, they nonetheless inflict some cell harm on the corn, softening it to a extra cooked texture. That is truly a helpful method that is typically dubbed “cryo-blanching,” during which contemporary produce is given a like-cooked texture with out sacrificing any of its freshness.

So, must you par-cook the corn? I haven’t got an conclusive reply, but when my checks confirmed something, it is that you could in all probability take a bit of shortcut right here and skip the cooking. Alternatively, because the par-cooking did not hurt the corn in any method, I feel one may argue it is nonetheless an insurance coverage coverage in opposition to any loss in high quality from enzymes or different adjustments that happen in raw corn over time.

In brief, “blanch” the corn (utilizing my no-boil technique linked to above) when you’ve got the time, however know that you’re going to in all probability be simply effective for those who simply freeze the corn from uncooked.

Suggestions for Making certain the High quality of Your Frozen Corn

Right here are some things it is best to attempt to do to make sure you frozen corn stays nice over time.

• Freeze it flat: To hurry up the corn’s freezing time and lock in its high quality as shortly as attainable, unfold the kernels out on rimmed aluminum baking sheets and freeze on these. Then switch the corn to zipper-lock luggage or vacuum luggage for long-term storage.
• Pack it Flat: Attempt to pack the corn flat within the freezer luggage, squeezing out as a lot air as attainable, for probably the most environment friendly storage and quickest defrosting occasions attainable. Kenji has written about this earlier than, and the recommendation is simply pretty much as good immediately because it was then.
• Double-Bag for Safety: Whereas it makes use of extra plastic, double-bagging the frozen corn helps maintain freezer burn away. As soon as once more, ensure to take away as a lot air from the baggage as attainable.
• Label Clearly: Be sure to write down the date on the corn earlier than you place it within the freezer so you know the way previous it’s. It is also useful to incorporate different data, together with weights and volumes of the corn in every bag; this will help you establish how a lot corn you should defrost for a recipe.
• Defrost Rapidly on Aluminum Baking Sheets: Aluminum baking sheets do not simply show you how to freeze the corn, in addition they assist defrost it shortly, due to the metallic’s nice warmth conduction qualities. For those who froze the corn in a skinny, flat layer, it would defrost very quickly whereas sitting on an aluminum baking sheet at room temperature. Then use the corn quickly after to make sure its high quality stays excessive.