How To Freeze Sweet Corn Outdoors (Video)

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Learning how to freeze sweet corn is simple and easy and a great way to add more food to your long-term food storage.  Freezing sweet corn is my preferred method for preserving corn.  I have canned sweet corn in the past, but it is a long process and the end product is not as fresh as I would prefer.  Freezing sweet corn can also be messy, so I prefer to do it outdoors as shown in the video below.  The cleanup is so much easier outdoors, and it’s fun to spend a day outside with family freezing sweet corn for winter.  

There are four simple steps to freezing sweet corn. 

• Shucking – which means removing the bright green husk and silk that protects the corn on the cob
• Blanching – cooking each cob for a short amount of time
• Cutting it off the cob
• Putting it into the freezer.  

You can freeze whole ears of corn after blanching, but it takes up a lot of freezer room, so I always cut mine off the cob and preserve it that way.

Where To Source Your Corn

I grow most all of our food in my ½ acre garden, but the one thing I don’t grow is sweet corn.  This is due in part to the fact that corn is grown by a lot of people in my area, so it is easy for me to source.  And also because I’d have to find creative ways to keep the raccoons out of the sweet corn patch until it was ready to harvest.  If I chose to grow my own I’d probably have to run several strands of electric fence around the corn patch to help with the coons and the deer.  But at this point, I just purchase it from local farmers that grow it under pivot and can plant it in different places every year to keep the raccoons and deer guessing.  

You could also purchase sweet corn at your local farmer’s market.  Sometimes if you ask farmers about purchasing in bulk, they will let you take what is leftover or some of their seconds at a discounted price which makes freezing it in large quantity more affordable.

How Much Does One Ear Of Corn Produce?

This depends on the corn of course, but this last year I got 27 quarts of frozen corn off of 22 dozen ears of sweet corn.  If you think your family will eat a bag of corn every other week year round, you would need to put up at least 25 quart bags of corn to feed your family for a year.

Ways To Enjoy Frozen Corn

• Our favorite time to eat frozen sweet corn is alongside spaghetti, goulash or lasagna.  Something about those italian dishes and corn seem to go well together.
• In corn and potato chowder – this is one of our favorite winter soups.
• We like to use this corn to make hot corn dip in the winter and gives us a taste of summer even when it’s cold outside.
• I also add a bag of frozen corn to my taco soup in the winter as well.

Tips For Freezing Sweet Corn

Fresh sweet corn is best

The sooner you can get it frozen after picking it the better.  The best time to pick corn is early in the morning when the sugars are still up high in the plant.  If you can pick it in the morning and have it in the freezer by mid to late afternoon, then your corn will taste exceptionally fresh.  If you pick it, and don’t get it processed for a few days, it will turn starchy and you won’t enjoy the taste nearly as well.

Outdoors

The best way to freeze corn is if you can do the whole process outside.  If you have a table, a two burner camp chef stove and some electricity for your electric knife, you’ll be all set to freeze your corn outside.

Easy Cleanup

The sooner you can start soaking the dishes after you’re done with them, the better.  I like to keep a big tub of water sitting nearby as I’m doing corn, and I just throw the dishes in there when we’re done with them.  Then when it’s time to wash them, it doesn’t take anytime at all to get all the sticky corn off.

Freezing Tips

When placing the corn in your freezer, be sure to lay it out flat, and do not lay the bags on top of each other.  Corn can take awhile to freeze, and if you pile lots of bags on top of each other, sometimes the bags in the middle do not freeze very fast.  They can actually taste sour if left that way long enough.  I always make sure that I lay everything out flat to freeze for at least 24 hours, and then stack it up in my freezer.

Great Family Project

Corn is a project that is best done with several people to help.  I like to get the whole family together for corn day.  We run a shucking crew, and then have different people helping to cut off, scrape and bag the corn.  This helps you get it in the freezer the fastest possible way.  

Ways To Remove Corn From Cob

There are many different techniques for removing the corn from the cob.  My favorite way is with an electric knife because that’s how I’ve always done it.  I also like using a corn cutter and this is a great way to cut off corn if you don’t have access to electricity.

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Tools You May Need

Two burner camp chef stove

Large Pots – for blanching the corn

Large bowls – for putting the corn in until it’s put into the bags

Baking sheets – for placing the corn on before and after it’s blanched

Tongs – for removing corn cobs from boiling water

Electric Knife, serrated knife or corn cutter

Bundt pan if using corn cutter.  The middle of the bundt pan works well for balancing each cob on and when you cut off the corn kernels they will fall into the pan below,

Cutting board – to use when cutting the corn off the cob

Pairing knives – for scraping all the cream corn off the cobs

Measuring cup – for scooping the corn into the freezer bags

Ziplock quart freezer bags – for putting the corn in for freezing

Permanent marker – for labeling the freezer bags

How To Freeze Sweet Corn

Preparing The Corn

Pick the corn early in the morning if possible.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil while getting the corn shucked.

Shuck the corn by pulling off all the outer layers of husk and silk.  Stack corn up on baking sheets.

When the large pot of water comes to a boil, place the corn in the boiling water.  Cover with a lid to make it return to a boil faster.  

Boil until the raw corn kernels start to change color.  Usually just a few minutes.

Remove blanched corn from pot using tongs and place back on the baking sheets to cool.  You can also place them in a big tote of cold water to chill until you’re ready to move on to the next step.

When cool enough to handle, using a cutting board and electric knife, cut off the corn from the cob.  Be careful not to get too deep and cut off some of the cob as it doesn’t taste very good.

Place cobs on a baking sheet nearby until they can be scraped.  As your cutting board fills up, add corn to a large bowl.

Scrape each ear of corn using a pairing knife held at a downward angle away from the cob.  I like to scrape the cobs right into the big bowl of corn kernels, so that it all gets mixed nicely.  Scraping the cobs will remove any of the last of the corn that is still on the cobs.  You don’t want to waste any!

Freezing The Corn

Label each freezer bag with the year you are freezing the corn.

Using a measuring cup, scoop the cut corn into freezer bags until they are as full as you want them.  I usually put 4-5 cups of corn into each bag

As soon as the bags are cool to the touch, lay them flat in a single layer in the freezer.  Do not pile them on top of each other until they are completely frozen.

To prepare frozen corn, take a bag out of the freezer and run it under hot water until you can remove the freezer bag.  Place corn in a pan on the stove top with a little bit of water in the bottom.  Put a lid on the pot and cook on medium high heat until thawed.  You can add a little bit of butter and salt if desired.  You can also just place it frozen right into a crockpot or pot of soup and let it thaw naturally as the soup cooks.  

Store in the freezer for up to one year.  You can freeze it for longer than that but it can get freezer burn and not taste as delicious.