The best thing about mid-August in New England is corn season. It comes quicker down in the valley but up here in the hills, we have to wait for our pleasures. We sometimes eat corn and tomatoes every night for a week but eventually we have to admit that we are never going to eat all that corn fresh and it’s time to start putting it up. I could can it and I may still do at least one load that way but I do love to have corn in the freezer too. We have a pretty simple method for going about it.
Bruce put his engineering mind to work and built me a corn holder. The holder consists of a screw and a block of wood, 8 inches by two inches. The block sits on a baking pan. I picked the corn while Bruce built the holder and we all worked to get the corn shucked. We shuck the husks right into Phoebe’s wagon. I use my water bath canner in my canning kitchen for blanching the corn. The ears fit very nicely in the canning basket. Four minutes in the boiling water then I dump the corn into a bucket of cold water and add another load to the canner. As the corn cools, I set an ear at a time on the screw and slice the kernels off. They stay right in the pan. When the pan gets full I pour the corn into a big wash pan. And so it goes. It is more than a one person operation but it goes pretty quickly. The cobs go into the wagon and as it gets full, Phoebe brings it down and throws the mess into the pig pen. I freeze the corn in my Food Saver bags. There is a lot of laughter and with a morning of pleasant labor a lot of food gets put up. Phoebe was happy, the pigs were happy and I am very happy anticipating corn chowder and corn fritters.
Preservation is in full swing around here. The tomatoes are looking great and the summer squashes are crazy. I shredded two today and made zucchini bread with some and froze the rest. I am terrible disappointed in cauliflower. I looked good a week ago and today I found it had all bolted. Peppers are prolific. I need to make some stuffed peppers soon. I have gallons of frozen peppers and really, how many can I use? Still, they keep coming. I may just let Phoebe set up a pepper stand on the front lawn just to find a home for them.
I planted buckwheat today, hoping to get a cover crop in the bed my garlic goes in. I brought out the extra blankets today too. Last night we were awaken by the strangest sound. It took a minute to realize that the furnace had started! Is it my age that makes each day pass so quickly? I remember when the time between the last day of school in June and the beginning of school in September seemed like eternity. Now, the summer season is gone in one heavy breath of air. Perhaps it just seems that way because we had such oppressive heat and now I need a sweater to go fetch the morning eggs. We missed anything in between.
The Just In Case Book Blog 
August 19, 2012 at 10:56 pm
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for your wonderful blog. Your new kitchen is to die for!!! Is there a reason for blanching the corn while still on the cob? Does it alter the sucess of freezing corn kernels? Or can you do it either way?
Many thanks,
Jacqui
August 20, 2012 at 4:16 am
My corn preserving isn’t on quite the same scale as yours, but I do love it’s minimal waste/multiple uses, even without pigs.
I compost the husks, feed the de-corned cobs to the chickens to peck clean and then dry them and use them as fire lighters, an idea I got after seeing bags of dried corn cobs in French supermarkets alongside barbecue charcoal. The silks I use in stocks or dry.
August 20, 2012 at 5:24 am
Welcome Jacqui. For the short term, you don’t need to blanch but for more than a few months, I find it keeps better.
August 20, 2012 at 7:44 am
Lovely post Kathy
I will need to buy sweet corn at the farmers’ market next Saturday as it has been too dry here (we’re not part of the large drought area ust our wee kbit of WV) . A grower who lives 3 dmiles away has great corn because he has had enough rain.
Have you ever frozen corn on the cob? Is it worth the freezer space?
August 20, 2012 at 8:11 am
I planted buckwheat in my community garden plot last spring, but the heat and drought thwarted my efforts for a beautiful cover crop. I like your plan to sow it where you’ve planted garlic — thanks for the good idea. Best wishes!
August 20, 2012 at 9:11 am
The corn holder Bruce designed reminds me of the dried corn on the cob holders to use as a squirrel feeder 🙂
Another way to freeze zucchini is to puree it, with or without the skin, and freeze in an appropriate size (I found 1 cup was good) using a zip lock bag as they freeze flat taking up little room. Use instead of liquid in muffins and quick breads or add to soup or stew. If you leave the peel on it will add a slightly green color to whatever you add it to. Pureeing the zucchini in a blender or food processor is faster than shredding especially if you have a lot or oversized squash.
August 20, 2012 at 9:40 am
I needed a comforter on the bed last night and the night before! It’s the first time my feet have been cold in… I can’t remember 🙂
I’m freezing tomatoes whole, so I can go back and cook ’em down for sauce later, when I *want* heat in my kitchen. I’ve canned beans, and bread-and-butter pickles, and need to harvest more beans. Can hardly wait for the fair – we’ll be there Thursday – will you?
August 20, 2012 at 1:14 pm
I have frozen corn on the cob but I don’t have the freezer space this year. I peel my squash and remove the seeds, then shred it in the food processer. It doesn’t take long and I freeze it flat as well. I’ll be heading to the fair early in the morning on Thursday to set up the 4-H booth but I can’t stay. My girls are coming home for Young Bruce’s wedding on Saturday and I’ll be out straight all weekend. It’s all good stuff but I’ll be happy to get life back to what passes for normal around here.
August 26, 2012 at 1:05 am
Congratulations on the wedding! 🙂 It’s heartening to have these familiar rituals to ground us during challenging times.
August 27, 2012 at 4:45 pm
I’m really low today. All the soil prep, seed starting (under lights in the basement so many months ago), watering, weeding……all ended in one night with the lows in the lower thirties. 31 degrees in the end of august! We woke to burnt dead squash (including Oregon Sweet Meat- seeds from Carol D.), dead green beans and more than dead herbs. If we were pioneers, we’d starve this next year. I’m just sick……
August 27, 2012 at 6:04 pm
[…] Corny August 20, 2012 original post Leave a Comment The best thing about mid-August in New England is corn […]
August 27, 2012 at 8:38 pm
I’m sorrier than I can say. Here’s a group hug from your cyber-buddies.