Sweet!

      Sweet corn season is upon us and I have to say it is a point in the year I look forward to. I have been known to eat sweet corn until I have a stomach ache. Sweet corn is always the best eaten right off the cob only minutes after picking it. Sweet corn ripens and is done so quickly that a person feels like they must gorge on it while it is available.

      A few days ago we decided that the corn was just right for freezing. In our family we don't do anything small when it comes to freezing or canning produce for the coming year. This year we headed out to the field with the pickup full of buckets and came home with 15 5gallon pails full of husked corn. We had a big day of work ahead of us. The kids were of great help and I feel so blessed that they are able to have these experiences and memories while working together as a family.

 

        We all headed out into the sweet corn patch and got to work husking the corn. I remember watching my dad when I was a kid husk the corn with two pulls of the husk. He would divide the silk at he top and pull of each side of the husk and then snap it off at the bottom. I remember thinking he was amazing. I now have had some practice over the years and have perfected the quick husk and was teaching some of the kids how to do this.  Most of them still enjoyed the slow leaf by leaf husking and discovering the golden corn in the middle.

The kids posing with the full pails before we head home to cook and freeze it.

 

    The first step to freezing corn is cleaning the corn. We do this to remove any dirt and to clean off as much of the silk as possible. We then place the cobs of corn in big kettles of boiling water. The corn cooks for only a short time and then we remove it and quickly cool it in another sink. Then it is time to cut the corn off the cob and this is where the all hands are called on deck. The kids were given instructions on how to properly cut the corn and proved to be much help. It is fun all sitting around the table together talking and working.

 

       

        After it is all cut off the cob the corn is scooped into freezer bags and then taken to the freezer where it is cooled quickly. Once frozen the corn is good for years. I feel very blessed that we have this wonderful produce from the land to eat throughout the year and enjoy the family time and memories that come from preparing it for future consumption. It is a lot of work and a big sticky mess but well worth it.