The precise option to Freeze Corn

This website isn’t acknowledged for its brevity—after we kind out a culinary question, we go deep, check out methodically, and make clear our outcomes. This textual content is also a welcome change of tempo, because of there’s solely loads one can say about freezing corn. It’s fairly easy and easy.

So, that is what it is important know to guard that summer 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, in reality. Nonetheless there’s far more urgency than that. The pure sugars in sweet corn quickly convert to further difficult starches, so if you find yourself with further corn than you’ll reasonably eat in a day or two, or in case you merely want to guard as lots of it as potential to have the benefit of completely different events of 12 months, freezing is your solely possibility.

Freezing Complete Ears Vs. Kernels

As a rule, you might be larger off slicing the kernels off the cob sooner than freezing (observe our instructions for the way in which to reduce off the kernels with minimal mess). First, this protects home, since you’re eradicating the cobs sooner than freezing, allowing for somewhat extra corn to be saved than in case you froze the ears full. Second, typically, frozen corn is most interesting utilized in dishes that solely require the kernels—when you possibly can eat a defrosted and reheated ear of corn, it’s not as satisfying as consuming one current. The kernels, though, work good in all types of dishes, from casseroles to salads, soups, stews, baked objects, and additional.

One different advantage of freezing merely the kernels: Because of they’re smaller, they freeze sooner. That could be a nice issue, because of the earlier they freeze, the smaller the ice crystals are that kind inside them, essential to raised preservation of texture (larger ice crystals do further cell hurt, leading to softer, mushier outcomes).

Should 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 end in a loss in produce prime quality over time. I ran side-by-side assessments with current summer season corn to see if I would inform a distinction between blanched* and raw frozen corn by freezing samples of every, then defrosting and tasting them various weeks later.

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

I might be reliable: 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 kind all through freezing—even after they’re smaller as a result of speedy freezing of the corn kernels, they nonetheless inflict some cell hurt on the corn, softening it to a further cooked texture. That is known as a helpful technique that’s sometimes dubbed “cryo-blanching,” by which current produce is given a like-cooked texture with out sacrificing any of its freshness.

So, do you need to par-cook the corn? I have never acquired an conclusive reply, however when my assessments confirmed one thing, it’s that you could be most certainly take just a bit shortcut proper right here and skip the cooking. Nonetheless, as a result of the par-cooking didn’t damage the corn in any strategy, I really feel one may 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.

Briefly, “blanch” the corn (using my no-boil method linked to above) when you could have the time, nevertheless know that you will most certainly be merely great in case you merely freeze the corn from raw.

Concepts for Making sure the Prime quality of Your Frozen Corn

Proper listed here are some issues it is best to aim 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 quickly as potential, unfold the kernels out on rimmed aluminum baking sheets and freeze on these. Then change the corn to zipper-lock baggage or vacuum baggage for long-term storage.
• Pack it Flat: Try to pack the corn flat inside the freezer baggage, squeezing out as loads air as potential, for primarily probably the most atmosphere pleasant storage and quickest defrosting events potential. Kenji has written about this sooner than, and the advice is just almost pretty much as good instantly as a result of it was then.
• Double-Bag for Security: Whereas it makes use of additional plastic, double-bagging the frozen corn helps protect freezer burn away. As quickly as as soon as extra, make sure to remove as loads air from the bags as potential.
• Label Clearly: Make certain that to jot down the date on the corn sooner than you place it inside the freezer so that you perceive how earlier it is. Additionally it is helpful to include completely different information, along with weights and volumes of the corn in each bag; this will allow you to determine how loads corn it is important defrost for a recipe.
• Defrost Shortly on Aluminum Baking Sheets: Aluminum baking sheets don’t merely allow you freeze the corn, moreover they help defrost it quickly, as a result of metal’s good heat conduction qualities. In case you froze the corn in a thin, flat layer, it may well defrost in a short time whereas sitting on an aluminum baking sheet at room temperature. Then use the corn rapidly after to verify its prime quality stays extreme.