The Greatest Technique for Freezing Summer time Corn

This web site is not identified for its brevity—once we deal with a culinary query, we go deep, check 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, here is what that you must know to protect that summer season 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 when you simply wish to protect as a lot of it as attainable to take pleasure in different instances of yr, 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 the way to minimize off the kernels with minimal mess). First, this protects area, because you’re eradicating the cobs earlier than freezing, permitting for way more corn to be saved than when you froze the ears entire. Second, in most situations, frozen corn is finest 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 recent. 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 an excellent factor, as a result of the sooner they freeze, the smaller the ice crystals are that type inside them, main to higher preservation of texture (bigger ice crystals do extra cell injury, resulting in softer, mushier outcomes).

Ought to You Blanch First or Not?

It usually 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 recent summer season corn to see if I might inform a distinction between blanched* and uncooked frozen corn by freezing samples of each, then defrosting and tasting them just a few weeks later.

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

I will be sincere: I could not inform them aside. The uncooked corn tasted simply as candy and tender because the par-cooked. That is partly as a result of ice crystals that do type throughout freezing—even when they’re smaller because of the speedy freezing of the corn kernels, they nonetheless inflict some cell injury on the corn, softening it to a extra cooked texture. That is truly a useful approach that is typically dubbed “cryo-blanching,” wherein recent 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 most likely take just a little shortcut right here and skip the cooking. However, for the reason that par-cooking did not hurt the corn in any means, I believe one might argue it is nonetheless an insurance coverage coverage towards 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) if in case you have the time, however know that you will most likely be simply positive when you simply freeze the corn from uncooked.

Suggestions for Guaranteeing 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 baggage or vacuum baggage for long-term storage.
• Pack it Flat: Attempt to pack the corn flat within the freezer baggage, squeezing out as a lot air as attainable, for probably the most environment friendly storage and quickest defrosting instances attainable. Kenji has written about this earlier than, and the recommendation is simply pretty much as good at the moment because it was then.
• Double-Bag for Safety: Whereas it makes use of extra plastic, double-bagging the frozen corn helps preserve freezer burn away. As soon as once more, be certain to take away as a lot air from the baggage as attainable.
• Label Clearly: Be certain that to write down the date on the corn earlier than you set 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 may also help you identify how a lot corn that you must defrost for a recipe.
• Defrost Shortly on Aluminum Baking Sheets: Aluminum baking sheets do not simply assist you freeze the corn, additionally they assist defrost it shortly, because of the metallic’s nice warmth conduction qualities. If you happen to froze the corn in a skinny, flat layer, it is going to 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.