# Can I freeze sweet corn? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2008, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-sweet-corn/458326 "2008-07-31T06:11:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-sweet-corn/458326/1 "2008-07-31T06:11:19Z")
I’m talking corn on the cob, folks. Sweet corn season has arrived, and it won’t last long, but I want to extend the season for a big family do a couple of weeks later, and good corn on the cob would be awesome. Have you ever frozen corn on the cob with any success? Are there tips and tricks to doing so? Can it taste anything like fresh-picked?\* I know that Alton Brown had his tip on using bleach and lemon juice to kill the starch-making enzymes, but would this combine well with freezing? Should there be a blanching stage before freezing? I also know that there are lots of home canners/freezers out there: fight my ignorance! \*Garrison Keillor says that fresh-picked sweet corn is better than sex, and I agree. The way to tell if you are a true sweet corn afficianado is whether you pick it before the water is boiling. Hell, a true sweet corn maniac would haul the stove down to the field and just bend the stalks over and dip the ears into the boiling water… ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-sweet-corn/458326/2 "2008-07-31T06:43:47Z")
I’m interested in this too. I’ve tried freezing it on the cob two ways – blanching and not blanching. Neither worked, so I gave up. I’ve been cutting it off the cob and freezing it. It’s good – better than any frozen corn that you buy at the store – but it’s not fresh-picked good. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-sweet-corn/458326/3 "2008-07-31T12:37:07Z")
Sadly, I think the answer is no. I have a farmers market 1/2 mile from my home. His back fields [corn fields] abut our property. We have sweet corn every day for the short season. I’ve tried vacuum sealing and freezing and no matter what I do I can never get that “pop” that fresh corn has when you first bite into it. I think the sweet corn season is something to have some reverence for while it is here, and enjoy it while you can then at the end of summer, switch gears to autumn eating…Butternut squash - mmmmmmm ---
**Author:** ![Canadiangirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Canadiangirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadiangirl)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-sweet-corn/458326/4 "2008-07-31T15:56:48Z")
Pull the husks off. Put the corn in a freezer bag (2-3 at a time) then put in the freezer. Then drop into boiling water when you feel like fresh corn! ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-sweet-corn/458326/5 "2008-07-31T16:25:15Z")
[QUOTE=Phlosphr] Sadly, I think the answer is no. I have a farmers market 1/2 mile from my home. His back fields [corn fields] abut our property. We have sweet corn every day for the short season. I’ve tried vacuum sealing and freezing and no matter what I do I can never get that “pop” that fresh corn has when you first bite into it. I think the sweet corn season is something to have some reverence for while it is here, and enjoy it while you can then at the end of summer, switch gears to autumn eating…Butternut squash - mmmmmmm [/QUOTE] If you freeze it, it’s not ever quite the same as fresh picked, but it’s still a right smart better than the frozen you get in the grocery store. Canned corn is right out. I freeze it both on and off the cob. ---
**Author:** ![MrBelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7feea3/32.png) [@MrBelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrBelding)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-sweet-corn/458326/6 "2008-07-31T18:43:07Z")
You can indeed freeze it but as the food aficionados have said before, it does take something out of the taste. If you can vacuum seal it i think that helps too, but of course you’d have to have one of those machines. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-sweet-corn/458326/7 "2008-08-01T01:13:29Z")
I found these to study and compare: > **[How to Freeze Corn on the Cob - Easily! With Step-by-step Photos, Recipe,...](https://www.pickyourown.org/freezingcornonthecob.htm)** > > How to Freeze Corn on the Cob in 10 easy steps - fully illustrated, with complete, simple recipe and directions. These are the easiest directions on the web! Anyone can make Corn on the Cob after reading this web page! > **[University of Illinois Extension](https://extension.illinois.edu)** Blanch 7, 9 or 11 minutes? I don’t think so. We only cook for 7 minutes. [http://foodsafety.psu.edu/lp\_series/08%20LP%20Sweet%20Corn%20PM7.pdf](http://foodsafety.psu.edu/lp_series/08%20LP%20Sweet%20Corn%20PM7.pdf) [http://ezinearticles.com/?Freezing-Sweet-Corn-For-Year-Round-Goodness!&id=747739](http://ezinearticles.com/?Freezing-Sweet-Corn-For-Year-Round-Goodness!&id=747739) 3 minutes sounds more like it. I would omit the part about cutting the kernels off. [http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/FN\_\_Harvest\_2005\_08pr.pdf](http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/FN__Harvest_2005_08pr.pdf) [http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/CFS/CFS-595-W.pdf](http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/CFS/CFS-595-W.pdf) These are beginning to sound repetitious. [http://www.kansassweetcorn.com/freezing\_corn\_on\_the\_cob.htm](http://www.kansassweetcorn.com/freezing_corn_on_the_cob.htm) [http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/corn1.html](http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/corn1.html)