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How useful and tasty frozen corn is in winter, most housewives know. To please yourself with fragrant fresh cobs in the cold season, you do not need to make a lot of effort or spend a lot of time and money. But many ignorant people harvest frozen vegetables incorrectly. This leads to the loss of most of the useful properties of the product. It is worth learning more about harvesting frozen corn for the winter.
Benefits of Freezing Corn
Corn can be prepared for the winter in two ways: canned and frozen. The second way is simpler and more profitable. First, freezing is much easier and less expensive than canning. Secondly, it allows you to keep the vegetable almost in its original form. Frozen cobs have everything: the aroma, color, and taste of the original product, and most importantly, the beneficial substances remain in the same composition.
Preparing corn for freezing
Before sending a vegetable to the freezer, it must be processed accordingly. It is necessary to clean from the leaves, corn “silk”. To do this, it is necessary to cut off 1-2 cm of the inedible part from the blunt end of the head. Further, the purification process will go much easier. Wash the peeled heads of cabbage under running water, dry them so that the frozen grains do not stick together and the moisture does not turn into ice. If the corn will be frozen ready-made, boil it.
There are housewives who do not consider it necessary to wash vegetables, preparing them for the winter. But this is wrong and can lead to unpleasant consequences. Water washes away dirt, bacteria, parasites, some of them do not die even at very low temperatures and can enter the body, cause poisoning and other negative symptoms.
How to freeze an ear of corn
In order to get the maximum of nutrients in winter, it is better to freeze fresh vegetables. At the same time, corn heads will turn out bright, juicy and fragrant if they are blanched.
No processing
Prepare corn cobs, wrap in cling film, put compactly in the freezer compartment. Nothing else is needed – this is the easiest way to freeze a vegetable. To improve its taste, after defrosting, various culinary techniques are used, but more on that later.
After blanching
Corn cobs in preparation for freezing can be blanched, which helps not only preserve the properties of vegetables, but also extend their shelf life. Heads of cabbage are dipped in boiling water, boiled there for 5 minutes. Then, abruptly interrupting the cooking process, they are immersed in a basin of ice water.
The fact is that vegetables contain enzymes that continue to remain active even at low temperatures. Thanks to their activity, various biochemical processes are accelerated, including the reactions of decay, decay, spoilage. Shock heat treatment of frozen vegetables, however short-term, helps to stop this process.
How to freeze corn kernels
It is more expedient to harvest frozen corn in grains, since its scope is significantly increasing. Now the vegetable can be used not only as an independent dish, but also as additional ingredients in various culinary recipes. Frozen corn in grains is used in soups, salads, side dishes, and other dishes.
Raw
Freeze freshly harvested corn. With prolonged storage, starchy substances begin to accumulate in it, which significantly spoil the taste of the product. They are converted from natural sugars found in the vegetable.
To separate the grains from the head, it is necessary to carefully, under the very base, cut them off with a sharpened knife. Then collect in a bag or other suitable container, always sealed, and put in the freezer until winter.
After blanching
After blanching the corn cobs, you need to wait for them to cool to room temperature. Then try to manually separate the grains. If that doesn’t work, use a knife or other tool. On sale there are special devices for cleaning corn, manual and electric peelers, so there should not be any problems with this.
It is better to use durable bags for storage so that they do not tear. It is necessary to divide the grain mass into small portions – so you do not have to defrost the entire stock for the sake of 100 g. If the vegetable is frozen for the first time, more than half of the nutrients are retained in it, but during the repeated procedure they are completely destroyed.
Can you freeze canned corn
Sometimes after preparing festive dishes, half a can of canned corn remains. Thrifty housewives have learned to save such leftovers by freezing them. This allows you to extend the shelf life of canned corn (after opening) until the next time. You can do this in the following way:
- drain the water and dry the grains with a towel;
- freeze in bulk;
- pour into a bag;
- put in the freezer.
You can immediately pack it in a plastic bag, which needs to be shaken periodically. Frozen mass without it will stick together.
Is it possible to freeze boiled corn
Before freezing, it is allowed to cook the corn until tender, and send it to the freezer in this form. You can do this in two ways:
- entirelyif you want to treat yourself to fresh juicy cobs in winter. Boil them until tender, cool and wrap in cling film. In winter, throw frozen heads of cabbage into boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes at 100 degrees.
- In the grains. This method is more suitable for soups, casseroles, stews, baby food. Cook whole, separate the grains from the cells, first one row, the rest will be easier. Pack in small portions (for 1 time) in plastic bags.
How long can frozen corn be stored
Frozen corn can be stored for a very long time, up to one and a half years. Therefore, on each container (package) it is necessary to sign the harvest date, so as not to confuse the old crop with the new one. A boiled vegetable can also be stored for a long time, until the next season.
How to defrost corn
Raw frozen corn cobs must be removed from the freezer and allowed to thaw on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Then, as usual, cook in boiling salted water for 30-40 minutes.
How to cook frozen corn
Let the frozen heads of cabbage thaw, pour boiling water to make the grains juicy and tender. Put to boil. If the frozen cobs are first immersed in cold water, then while it boils, all the nutrients and vegetable juice will come out into it. If you fill it with boiling water, the surface will scald, a protective film will form, which will prevent the loss of taste and nutritional properties of frozen corn.
For one head of cabbage it is necessary to prepare 250-300 ml of boiling water. Pour everything into a saucepan, put the cobs and close the lid. The upper layers protruding above the water, thanks to this, will be steamed. Many people are under the delusion that the longer they cook, the softer it will be. But the result is just the opposite! From long cooking, starch is produced, frozen corn becomes tough, tasteless.
In order for frozen fodder corn to be juicy, it must be soaked in milk for two hours before cooking. It will become sweet if you add 1 teaspoon of sugar to a liter of water during cooking. To preserve the natural color of the frozen vegetable, it is also necessary to pour the juice of half a lemon (2,5-3 liters) into the pan. Twenty minutes after the start of the boil, take a toothpick and pierce the head of cabbage with it.
If it is bent or broken, you can cook for another five minutes, then turn it off. Let the heads stand for a while in hot water (5 minutes) to make them even juicier. To keep frozen corn soft, do not salt it while it is boiling or in water. Salt stimulates the extraction of juice from the grains. Therefore, corn must be salted before serving.
Milk recipe
A wonderful dish can be obtained by boiling frozen corn in milk. It acquires an unusually delicate creamy taste. Frozen cobs that have been thawed in the refrigerator can be prepared as follows:
- cut into portions into several parts, so they are better saturated with milk;
- Pour in water to cover slightly.
- pour milk, filling them with the missing volume;
- cook for 10 minutes at 100 degrees;
- add 50 g of butter, boil the same amount;
- turn off, keep covered for 20 minutes so that the grains become juicy;
- when serving, sprinkle each piece with salt.
Cooking time may vary, it all depends on the variety and maturity of the frozen heads. They taste even better on the grill.
Conclusion
Frozen corn will help in the winter period of the year to bring freshness and bright colors of summer to the diet, to nourish the body with useful substances. Simplicity and ease of preparation make this product available in every home.