How Corney Can it Get?

 

How appropriate is it that a sweet corn grower's last name is Corney? :) Read on to find out!

This year full-time country woman Denise Corney's brother, Terry, planted his usual acre of sweet corn. Despite the epic drought that we are experiencing this year, Corney Corn is thriving. So much so that Denise feels like she has corn growing out of her ears.

Several times this past week I've helped Denise with her corn stand. Our friends and owner of Galion's KFC on St. Rt. 598 north of Galion has graciously allowed Denise to set up shop in front of the restaurant. Denise also sets up at NorthSide Farmers' Market in Heise Park on Thursdays (4 -6:30 p.m.)

And, this is what is wonderful about living rural: not only do our friends allow us to sell produce in front of their business (on a busy highway, which really helps move product), but part of my payment from Denise was in sweet corn. One night I cooked and froze eight dozen ears after a hot day of selling. It sounds like a lot, and I guess it is, but it really did not take that long.

Here's how I did it. First I shucked the corn and put the naked ears in a large plastic storage tub. Next I got out my large stainless steel stock pot that has a colander basket that fits inside and put about 3 quarts of water in it and got it boiling. When this stock pot came with my set of cookware, I thought, Holy Smokes! Who eats this much spaghetti? It seemed like it would cook more than even the largest Italian family could devour in one meal, and I should know because my best friend comes from a super-sized Italian family. But, know what? I love this stock pot. Not only for steaming food like corn on the cob, but also because it serves as a water bath canner when I make jam. :)

I let a batch of corn steam for about 10 minutes. As soon as I took it out, I added another batch to steam while I cut the first batch from the cob. All I used was a sharp, thin-bladed knife. No fancy-dancy corn cutter is needed unless you really love kitchen gadgets that only accomplish one task. Then I say, go for it!

Because the smallest freezer bags I could find were quart sized, and that there is no way that the two of us could eat a quart of corn, I put enough corn for a meal in sandwich bags (about a pint). Then I put two bags in a freezer bag for the best protection.

As soon as each batch came out of the steamer, I put in another, which gave this process great momentum. All-in-all it took about 3 hours, from shucking to processing to cleaning up the kitchen.

Was it worth it? You betcha! Now I have our winter's worth of sweet corn in the freezer, just waiting to be put in tasty winter fare.

Writing this post today made me think of the song Jubilation T. Cornpone, from the play Li'l Abner. Why? Well, just take a gander at what was left of those 96 ears of corn! You can listen to the song here.



Marcheta *Jublilated