Freezing Local Sweet Corn

Corn must be blanched before freezing to stop enzyme activity. Carefully lower cleaned ears of corn into the pot of boiling water. Cover and blanch for 4-6 minutes;start timing immediately when corn is added to water. At the end of time, remove corn with tongs to bowl of heavily-iced water to stop cooking and cool. A general rule of thumb is to cool the corn for the same amount of time it boiled. After cooling, drain thoroughly and then slice kernels from the ear. This is easily done with a sharp knife and the ear held vertically. Do not cut through the corn cob, but just through the base of the kernels. The corn can be bagged immediately in portions to fit your household, or spread it on a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze for a few hours, then transfer the loose kernels to freezer bag. This method allows removal of as much or little corn as wanted at one time. Use a straw to remove as much air as possible from zip-bags before storing in the freezer. The blanching water may be reused for subsequent batches; add more as needed.For more information see the UW-Extension website:http://learningstore.uwex.edu/Food-Preservation-and-Safety-C60.aspx For a photo tutorial on freezing corn, visit: http://www.pickyourown.org/freezingcorn.htm