Whether freezing or canning, you need to blanch the corn. 3 minutes I believe.

Val

Blanch because otherwise you have not stopped the enzyme action that causes spoilage and deterioration.

Blanch - I prefer steam blanching rather than water blanching. 5-8 mins. depending on the size of the ears.

Dave

Thanks for the advice. I was given 3 big bags of sweet corn and had worked some of it but then had to work (nurse, 12+ hrs, no time except to sleep). Yesterday I just bit the bullet and did it the way we like it even if it took some extra time. I did freeze a few ears without blanching but intend to use them up quickly. Our own corn is probably going to be ready here soon so I will make sure to blanch before freezing anymore whole ears. Lori

Lori,

I know that all the official advice says to blanch, but I tried doing it without a couple years ago and found it worked just fine for me, whether I leave it on the cob or cut it off first. (To be honest, really fresh, good corn of some varieties cooks so quickly that if I put it in boiling water for 3 minutes that wouldn't be blanching, it would be cooking!)

I don't blanch red peppers, either---I cut 'em in slices or pieces and freeze 'em in portions, and they taste great when I use them months later.

On the other hand, when I tried this with broccoli, I really regretted it. Blechhh!!!! And I, personally, didn't think the quality I got when I froze beans made it worth doing, with OR without blanching. Zucchini too---I freeze it only in shredded form, for use in baking zucchini bread or adding to the occasional stew.

So, my own advice from experience would be to leave a few of those ears you froze without blanching for a few months and see what you think---it wd be good to know if you felt you could freeze some without blanching in the future if you are in a serious time crunch. You might find it works just fine.

And of course you might not. Again, I know this isn't the official recommendation. But you asked for people's experience and opinions, and this is mine.

Good luck! Isn't fresh corn great?

Zabby

I agree with Zabby, not the official recommendation, but I do it every year. I try to blanch first for long term storage, but in a crunch I've frozen corn unblanched, both cut and on the cob. In my experience, I could not tell a difference in blanched vs. unblanched up to 6 months out.
~ Tracy

I want to freeze corn kernels. It seems that it is possible to blanch either before or after removing from the cob. Does anyone have experience blanching after removing from the cob? And what are the pros and cons? It seems as if it would be much easier and quicker this way. Thanks

It seems that it is possible to blanch either before or after removing from the cob.

That's only if making cream style for canning. Otherwise the instructions call for blanching the ears and THEN cutting it off the cob.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Freezing Corn

I just whipped out 10 dozen ears in a few hours with a small work party. We always blanch the ears first, then run it over a corn cutter. I have the blades on the corn cutters adjusted so it leaves the hull on the cob (we find it's easier to digest without the hulls). The result looks like creamed corn, and we freeze it in bags, but we don't add anything to it before freezing. I bought seconds from a local market and they were better looking than a lot of the first ears from my garden, and I saved about $2 per dozen. You can view my blog how I did it step by step. Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: Blog Entry on Freezing Sweet Corn

I like to cut the kernels off raw, push out the milk with the back of a spoon, and add just enough water to get a good 3-minute simmer. When it's cool I freeze it. This gives me semi-cream corn that tastes really fresh and takes up little room in the freezer.