How do I freeze fresh corn off the cob?

 Are you ready for a big work day? For best quality, you want to preserve the corn within six hours of harvest. The corn should be fully ripe.

Husk the ears, remove the silks, trim off the ends of the ears to remove small fibrous kernels, trim out insect-damaged kernels if needed, and wash the corn. To prepare whole-kernel corn for freezing, place the ears in 2 to 3 gallons of boiling water and blanch for 3 minutes after the water returns to a boil. Cool the ears in ice water for at least five minutes, drain, and cut the kernels from the cob at about three-fourths of their depth. Do not scrape the cob.

To prepare cream-style corn for freezing, blanch the ears for 4 minutes in the boiling water. Cool the ears in ice water for at least five minutes, drain, and cut the kernels from the cob at about one-half of their depth. Scrape the cob with the backside of a knife to remove the remainder of the pulp and combine with the half-kernels.

To package whole-kernel or cream-style corn, fill pint- or quart-size freezer bags to a level 3 to 4 inches from the top of the bags. Squeeze out the air, leaving an inch of head space to allow for expansion of the corn. Label the bags and freeze. Before freezing, the bags may be inserted into reusable rigid plastic freezer containers for added protection against punctures and freezer burn.

Don't freeze more than 2 pounds of food per cubic foot of freezer capacity per day.

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