How to dry corn at home
Sweet corn contains many valuable vitamins, minerals and amino acids. This grain crop is useful for people with high cholesterol, diabetes, and decoctions of corn stigmas are used as a folk remedy for diseases of the urinary tract, cholecystitis, and overweight. How to dry corn and corn silk? Find out in this article.
For harvesting for the winter, September corn is best suited – by this time it is fully ripe. The ears should be smooth, free from dark spots and mildew. How to dry corn properly:
- Sort out the cobs, peel back the leaves, revealing the contents.
- Remove all hairs. Leaves do not need to be removed, they are bent to the stem.
- Tie the ears into a braid by the leaves and stems and hang in a ventilated room (on the veranda or in the attic). If space permits, you can also hang it by the piece.
Corn is considered completely dry if the kernels pop out of the cob when shaken. To preserve the grain for the winter, it is better to knock it out of the cob and put it in plastic containers or canvas bags.
If you want to dry milk corn, then here you need to first remove the grains from the cob. They are first dried in the oven on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. When the moisture comes out, you can dry the grains in the open air.
The most popular dried corn dish is popcorn. If you cook it without unnecessary additives, it not only does not harm your health, but is even useful.
Popcorn kernels are stored in plastic bags in the freezer. To prepare it, you just need to get it out of the freezer, put it in a hot frying pan and cover it with a lid. A tasty and healthy product will be ready in a couple of minutes.
If you decide to prepare corn silk for the winter, then they need to be harvested from summer, dairy corn. You can dry only those fibers that are hidden inside the leaves. Black tops are not suitable for preparing medicinal infusions. They are dried by spreading them out on a sheet of paper in a ventilated room, in an electric dryer (at a temperature of 40 degrees) or in an oven with an open door. Store corn silk in canvas bags.
Dried corn can be used to make not only popcorn, but also many different dishes, such as hominy or tortilla. If the kernels are not ground into flour, they must be soaked before cooking in the same way as beans.
In the next article: How to Dry Melon