How to Freeze Corn: Blanching and Freezing Corn on the Cob

Freezing corn is a little messy, but it’s not hard at all. (And, yes, you must blanch it!)

Get Corn Into the Freezer Quickly

Make sure that your corn is really fresh (as it was picked on the same day) because the taste and flavor of corn go downhill fast. When freshly pickled, sweet corn is high in natural sugar and low in starch. 

After corn is picked, the sugars in the kernel turn to starch in only two hours, changing the flavor and even the texture when it’s cooked. So, it’s important to get it into the freezer quickly once it’s taken from its stalk for that amazing flavor.

Growing Corn or Buying Corn?

I tend to buy corn from my local farm stand instead of growing it. You need a large stand for corn to be successful. Small patches don’t work out so well. At a minimum, grow corn in blocks and not long rows.

Why? Corn is different from most vegetables. The bees don’t pollinate it; rather, the wind does the job. Those silks or hairs are really important. During pollination, pollen from the tassel is carried by wind to the silks.  Pollen grains attach to the sticky end of each silk, and then travel down the silks to fertilize each ovary.  After pollination, the ovary develops into a kernel of corn at the other end of each strand of silk.  Take a look the next time you husk corn, and you will notice that there is a silk attached to each kernel!

I arrive at my local organic farm when or slightly after it opens. I buy three dozen ears and bring them home. Two and a half dozen of these ears will be frozen!

One ear of corn usually yields about 1/2 cup kernels. 

How to Blanch Corn

If you’re freezing corn, I recommend blanching for the best taste: give the corn a quick boil in water followed by quick cooling in ice water before preserving it by freezing.  

Natural enzymes in corn need to be inactivated before freezing to prevent the loss of color, nutrients, flavor, and texture.  Chilling in ice water prevents the corn from becoming mushy due to overcooking the starch.  

Let the corn sit in the icy water until it’s cold, typically, same amount of time corn was blanched. 

Freeze Off or On the Cob?

You can freeze the entire cob instead, but I don’t care for frozen cobs, and they take up a lot of space.

Immediately, I put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. While waiting for this to happen, I shuck the corn from its husks, removing all that silk. 

I also get out several trays of ice, depositing the cubes in an insulated container. Quart-sized freezer bags are labeled with the year and set aside. A large stainless steel bowl is pulled from the cupboard and placed on the table.

Once the water starts boiling, I use tongs to deposit six ears into the water. They must be FULLY immersed, not popping out of the pot. I begin the timer. How many ears of corn you can blanche depends on the size of your pot. Do NOT overblanch or underblanch. Start counting your time as soon as the cobs enter the water. 

• For small ears, blanch for 7 minutes;
• for medium-size ears, blanch for 9-minutes;
• for large ears, blanch for 11 minutes.

I fill the large stainless-steel bowl half with cold water and throw in eight or nine ice cubes to make it colder. It must be very icy cold!

When the timer dings, I pull the ears from the hot water and plunge them into the iced water to halt the cooking process. Immerse the ears in the ice water. 

The general rule is: Immerse in icy water the same amount of time they were in the boiling water.

Slice the Kernels from the Cob (or Don’t)

Once the corn has cooled, I place the ears on the tray. Using a sharp knife, I cut the kernels from the cobs into a bowl, just running the knife down the sides. It’s messy! Try to get as many of the kernels off as you can. If you can do this job outside, it is even better for clean-up!

Freezing the Corn

When you have a big pile of kernels, scoop it into zip-top freezer bags (generally, 4 ears fill a quart), pat them flat (to remove air and so that they will stack easily), and seal the bag. Another trick—place a straw inside the bag, seal it mostly up, suck out the extra air, and seal quickly.

Label with the date. Put in the freezer in single layers so the corn freezes quickly. 

Doing this twice a summer gives me about 16 quarts which is plenty for my use during the winter. You can use ¼ of the bag, or ½, or the whole thing.

The corn can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Sweet corn is wonderful in soups, stews, and stir fries—or, as a scrumptious side. You can also fold the corn into muffins or corn bread, make salsa, or turn into creamed corn.

Corn Recipes

We can’t talk about sweet corn without leaving you with some delicious recipes! Here are a few:

Summer Corn Chowder 

Corn and Black Bean Pitas

Fresh Corn Salad

Do you have any tips or tricks for freezing corn? We want to hear them! Leave them in the comments.