How to Freeze Corn on the Cob

Has anyone been noticing how awful frozen vegetables have become (unless they are smothered in butter sauce)? Seriously, every time I buy a bag of frozen vegetables, I practically gag. I remember I used to love that stuff! Now I prefer canned vegetables. What? Isn't that ridiculous? So I decided to start freezing all of my own vegetables. Last year, I froze tons of chopped peppers, onions, corn, etc.... Everything tasted so much better and so much more fresh.

Now, as many of you know, corn is in season right now. We have the pleasure of living in the middle of acres upon acres of corn fields. My neighbor literally just bought 48 ears of corn. I didn't quite get that out of control, but I definitely bought my fair share.

The frozen corn lasts up to a year in the freezer. I also freeze a few of the cobs (is that what they are called? once the kernels are removed?) to boil in corn chowder throughout the winter such as this Chicken Adobe Chowder or this Corn Chowder. It is not a must but I think it helps flavor everything quite a bit. This is a simple process if it is something you are interested in. Just throw the cob into your soup while you are making the broth and remove it before serving. Simple right? Just another way to use up every bit of that corn.

Ingredients
Fresh corn on the cob
Sugar, if desired
Hot water
Ice water

Directions
1. Begin by husking all of your corn.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
3. Add 1/4 cup sugar, if desired, to your pot of boiling water.
4. Add a few pieces of corn at a time. If you add too many, the corn will no longer be submerged in the water. Boil for 3-5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice water.
6. Remove the corn from the boiling water and transfer to the ice water. Cut the kernels off the cob. My favorite way to do this is place a smaller bowl inside of a larger bowl. Stand the corn on top of the smaller bowl and cut off most of the kernels. Once the majority of the kernels are removed, cut off the remaining bits. Make sure you get all those great juices and remainder of the corn (see all those corn bits in the picture above?). This will help prolong the flavor. (Trust me, it is much easier to cut the kernels off the cob twice than try to muscle through it and get some of the hard parts that no one wants to eat).
7. Repeat with the remaining corn and freeze in individual serving sizes.