How one can Freeze Corn

This web page just isn’t recognized for its brevity—as soon as we cope with a culinary question, we go deep, check out methodically, and make clear our outcomes. This textual content may be a welcome change of tempo, on account of there’s solely rather a lot one can say about freezing corn. It’s fairly easy and easy.

So, here’s what it’s advisable to know to guard that summer time season sweetness for weeks or months after the ultimate cob has made an look on the farm stand.

Why and When to Freeze Corn

Why freeze corn? To guard it, the truth is. Nevertheless there’s far more urgency than that. The pure sugars in sweet corn shortly convert to additional superior starches, so if you find yourself with additional corn than you probably can reasonably eat in a day or two, or within the occasion you merely want to defend as quite a lot of it as potential to benefit from completely different cases of 12 months, freezing is the only option.

Freezing Full Ears Vs. Kernels

Most of the time, you’re greater off chopping the kernels off the cob sooner than freezing (observe our instructions for recommendations on easy methods to scale back off the kernels with minimal mess). First, this protects space, since you’re eradicating the cobs sooner than freezing, allowing for moderately extra corn to be saved than within the occasion you froze the ears full. Second, in most conditions, frozen corn is best utilized in dishes that solely require the kernels—while you may eat a defrosted and reheated ear of corn, it’s not as fulfilling as consuming one up to date. The kernels, though, work good in every kind of dishes, from casseroles to salads, soups, stews, baked gadgets, and further.

One different good thing about freezing merely the kernels: Because of they’re smaller, they freeze faster. That could be a superb issue, on account of the faster they freeze, the smaller the ice crystals are that sort inside them, foremost to raised preservation of texture (greater ice crystals do additional cell hurt, leading to softer, mushier outcomes).

Must You Blanch First or Not?

It normally is smart to blanch greens sooner than packing them away for a protracted, deep freeze—blanching inactivates enzymes that will lead to a loss in produce prime quality over time. I ran side-by-side exams with up to date summer time season corn to see if I’ll inform a distinction between blanched* and raw frozen corn by freezing samples of every, then defrosting and tasting them plenty of weeks later.

* I must clarify, I didn’t technically blanch my corn, which could indicate boiling it, nevertheless instead used my cold-start, no-boil methodology for additional actual temperature administration and better outcomes.

I will probably be honest: I couldn’t inform them apart. The raw corn tasted merely as sweet and tender as a result of the par-cooked. That’s partly due to the ice crystals that do type all through freezing—even after they’re smaller due to the speedy freezing of the corn kernels, they nonetheless inflict some cell hurt on the corn, softening it to a additional cooked texture. That is known as a helpful methodology that’s usually dubbed “cryo-blanching,” throughout which up to date produce is given a like-cooked texture with out sacrificing any of its freshness.

So, should you par-cook the corn? I have never received an conclusive reply, however when my exams confirmed one thing, it’s that you could be almost certainly take just a bit shortcut proper right here and skip the cooking. Alternatively, as a result of the par-cooking didn’t damage the corn in any means, I imagine one could argue it’s nonetheless an insurance coverage protection protection in the direction of any loss in prime quality from enzymes or completely different changes that occur in uncooked corn over time.

In short, “blanch” the corn (using my no-boil method linked to above) once you’ve received the time, nevertheless know that you will almost certainly be merely unbelievable within the occasion you merely freeze the corn from raw.

Strategies for Guaranteeing the Top quality of Your Frozen Corn

Proper listed here are some issues it is best to try to do to be sure to frozen corn stays good over time.

• Freeze it flat: To rush up the corn’s freezing time and lock in its prime quality as shortly as potential, unfold the kernels out on rimmed aluminum baking sheets and freeze on these. Then swap the corn to zipper-lock baggage or vacuum baggage for long-term storage.
• Pack it Flat: Try and pack the corn flat inside the freezer baggage, squeezing out as rather a lot air as potential, for primarily probably the most surroundings pleasant storage and quickest defrosting cases potential. Kenji has written about this sooner than, and the advice is just almost pretty much as good as we converse as a result of it was then.
• Double-Bag for Security: Whereas it makes use of additional plastic, double-bagging the frozen corn helps maintain freezer burn away. As quickly as as soon as extra, ensure that to remove as rather a lot air from the luggage as potential.
• Label Clearly: You’ll want to jot down the date on the corn sooner than you set it inside the freezer so that you understand how earlier it is. It’s also helpful to include completely different knowledge, along with weights and volumes of the corn in each bag; this may occasionally additionally show you how to determine how rather a lot corn it’s advisable to defrost for a recipe.
• Defrost Quickly on Aluminum Baking Sheets: Aluminum baking sheets don’t merely support you freeze the corn, moreover they help defrost it shortly, due to the metal’s good heat conduction qualities. In case you occur to froze the corn in a thin, flat layer, it’s going to defrost in a short time whereas sitting on an aluminum baking sheet at room temperature. Then use the corn shortly after to ensure its prime quality stays extreme.