Way back when Pinterest was new, I saw an idea that I knew was going to be a great one. It comes from Real Simple and it is just that – REALLY simple! I tried it and it instantly became one of my most favorite food prep tips ever! It makes cutting corn from the cob mess free and oh. so. easy.
We love corn on the cob in my house, and wait all year for that super sweet and delicious corn fresh from the farm.
A number of years ago, before Googling everything was commonplace, I decided to buy tons dozens of ears of corn in hopes of freezing it to last the whole winter. Epic fail. What I didn’t know at the time was that veggies should be blanched before freezing.
It was the worst corn. Ever.
I threw it out and cringed when I thought about how much I spent in money and time cutting all those kernels off the cobs.
So one day last summer after seeing that awesome pin, an idea dawned on me…
Blanching is simply dipping a fruit or veggie in boiling water for a few minutes and then plunging it into ice water to stop the cooking.
Corn on the Cob is fully cooked in about 3-5 minutes anyway, so I thought of a super simple way we could have summer sweet corn all winter ~ without having to shuck dozens of ears of corn at a time and slave over pots of boiling water for hours.
Now if spending hours or days preparing freezer or canned foods for winter months is your thing, you’ll probably think I’m pretty lazy. It’s not my thing. I’m all about quick and easy.
Here is what I do:
Whenever I buy corn for dinner during summer months, I buy double the amount of ears we will actually eat.
1. Shuck and cook all the ears.
2. Eat half of your delicious corn for dinner and set the remaining corn on a plate to cool while you’re eating.
3. After dinner, pull out your Bundt pan and cut the corn off the remaining ears.
4. Put the cut corn into a freezer container. IMPORTANT: Let the corn fully cool before freezing to avoid freezer burn.
5. Label your container and pop it in the freezer. Done! I label my leftovers with a dry erase crayon. To learn about this fabulous tip, check it out here.
It takes less than five minutes to cut the corn and put it in a freezer container.
Here is one of my favorite parts about this: I already know that the amount of corn being frozen is equal to what our family will eat for one meal! It makes meal planning so simple.
Obviously I could cook more if I really wanted to stock up. But, doing it this way hardly adds any extra time or effort and gives us summer sweet corn all winter.
Thanks Ginny good to know I should get myself some corn cheap and do this. I am canning like crazy so this would fit right in. Amee FYI I pinned this to my canning and freezing board too. 🙂
Great idea, I do a lot of canning, but for some reason I have never thought to freeze that delicious corn. I will be doing this, thanks so much for inspiring me! Thanks for sharing your creative inspiration with Sunday’s Best – it helped to make make the party a success!
What a fantastic idea, Ginny–I never thought to cut corn from the cob on a bundt pan. After making a huge mess last night trying to cut corn from the cob, I will be giving this idea a try!
Just found your blog and love it! One question, do you think the corn will hold well in freezer bags for the winter? Thanks!
I’ve been freezing corn in freezer bags for forty plus years. I prefer the bags.
You flatten the bag after filling with corn and before zipping the bag. That gets air out. I use
Quart bags with about two cups of cut corn which is a good amount
For our meals. Also, scrape the cob after cutting so you get all of the kernel.
I so need to get on the canning/freezing train! Love this idea!
Brilliant idea on buying extra corn for meals and freezing it. I use the bundt pan method, but I use an electric knife to remove the corn from the cob. So fast and little mess. Thanks for the great idea.
Ginny i just found this about freezing sweet corn and you are the absolute best for sharing this with us! I cannot bite corn off the cob but love it just the same. I never knew how to cut the corn off without making a huge mess and doing it in the bundt pan is the greatest! Now i know how to freeze it too! Thank you so much! Have a great day!
You bet, Diki! Glad you liked the tip. I was just telling someone about it the other day. I love easy solutions! 🙂
This looks so easy! I have a couple of questions… 1. So you’re telling me you don’t have to plunge the corn into freezing water after cooking? Just take it all out and eat what you want while what you want to freeze cools? and 2. How long with frozen corn last? Thanks!!