Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Oh, That’s So Corn-y!


Did you know corn is still available at the farmers market? Do you want to store some for winter use but you’re not quite sure how to do it? It’s easy, read on!

I went to the Holland Farmers Market this morning and bought 12 ears from one of my favorite farmers, Duane, of Lakeside Orchards. (He has THE BEST fruit, too! Tell him "The Blueberry Lady" sent ya!)

When I got them home I put the ears directly on the racks in my oven. You can pile them onto a cookie sheet if you want, but not necessary. I turned the oven up to 350, set the timer for 35 minutes and went to start laundry and catch up on emails.

When time was up I set them on top of the stove to cool. I got busy doing other things and didn’t get back to them for an hour. Corn is so forgiving to work with!

When I got to ‘em, I easily peeled the husks and silks off. For quick clean up I cut open a plastic grocery bag to pile stuff on, then just rolled it up and threw it away when I was done. (I used a separate bag for the cobs when I got that far. Well, at least for 12 ears it worked well that way.)

Note: If you have a dog, make sure to take the trash outside or don't leave your dog unattended! We found out the hard way on Saturday that our dog loves corn! There weren't too many cobs to clean up when we got back home. *sigh*

Ready to have the kernels cut off!

Using a sharp knife works best for cutting corn off the cob. Just stand the ear on an end and slice off the corn. You’ll know if you’re slicing too deep or not deep enough so don’t worry about doing it right. It works great in a shallow bowl like this, or on a dinner plate.

Don’t worry about the chunks like what you see in the picture. When you use them later they will break apart.

Out of 12 ears I got 4 – 13 oz bags of corn. These will be PERFECT this winter when I make my Basement Potato Soup, or will put some in this Black Bean with Pumpkin, Lime and Chipotle Soup from Enlightened Cooking if I feel like it.

It took me about 50 minutes from peeling husks to clean up, but I did 12 ears and spent time taking pictures. Really that’s not bad because this winter when I want corn, it will be all set to go! And it’s from my local farmers market; that always makes me happy!
All pictures (c) 8/24/11, Kathy Fannon

What do you think about roasting and freezing corn this way? Do you use a different method? I’d love to read your comments!

Do you find this post helpful? Please share it with your friends! Thank you!