Cornfields are popping with ears of corn and this is exactly when you want to go to the farmers market and buy tons of it to save for the winter months. This past weekend I got a dozen ears for $3 at the State Farmers Market, and there are probably even better deals if you get larger quantities.
My goal for these ears was to freeze them to use in those awful winter months when all you want is a little memory of warm sunshine, which these pretty yellow ears will deliver. Freezing corn is a quick and easy process, with the hardest part being getting all of the silk off of everything. If you're smart you can shuck your corn outside and let the wind deal with it, but I wasn't that smart. I also don't have any photos of the process because it happens quickly and your hands get covered in sweet corn juice.
Start by shucking your corn, removing as much silk as possible and using s sharp knife to cut off the silk end, which usually has a worm in there that's been munching. Get rid of those as fast as possible and set your shucked corn aside until they are all done.
Bring them inside and rinse them off (or just stay outside and hose them off!). Set a large pot of water to boiling, and while that process is going, fill the sink or a bucket full of cold water and ice.
Once the water is to a full boil, add the corn as quickly as possible and set the timer to 2 minutes. Stand by with a pair of tongs and move quickly to transfer the hot corn to the ice bath. Let the corn cool and then remove it to dry on a towel.
After the corn is fairly dry, pack the ears into a plastic freezer bag and let the ears hang out until it's January and nothing will do except a pot of Trinidad corn soup or a Mexican corn casserole.
Next go round I'm going to freeze corn with the kernels already cut off. Maybe with all of this money I'll save on food this winter, I can buy a chest freezer so we can preserve more at a time!
