Off with Their Ears!!!

It's that bountiful time of year again!

The earliest sweet corn (55 day Earlivee) variety is ready

to be harvested.

The farmer watches it closely for readiness

and goes to great lengths to make sure

the racoons don't let us know this fact!

Today is the day.

I like to do this just how my mom did it...

Husk and trim the corn outside

Set up the picnic table with a clean plastic table cloth

and all the necessary equipment.

Mom used a good sharp knife to cut the corn kernels from

their cobs

I cheat a little and use may "magic" mandolin slicer

It works like a charm.
I know that many people cook the corn right
on the cob before cutting off the kernels and
I'm sure that works well too.
I just like to work outside, leaving the messy
part of this job out of the hot kitchen.
I also use less energy by not needing to heat lots 
of boiling water.

I work in small batches in order to get the

optimal freshness from each picking

Once I have a full bowl of this golden goodness,

I immediately start the blanching process using

minimal water (1/2 to 1 Cup) stirring often
and making sure the corn is not sticking to pot. 

The blanching only takes about 10-15 minutes and then

it's important to plunge the pot of hot corn

into icy water to cool as quickly as possible

(it works well to put a bowl of ice right in the middle

of the pot as well)

When cooled - bag, label and freeze!!

It's that simple and oh so good.

In ten days the next variety (75 Day Honey and Cream)

will be ready. 

the last kind (80 days Big Jim - the farmer's namesake)
will be ripe

Guess what I'll be doing every Monday for the next few weeks - smile????

Till next time .......... enjoying some fresh home grown sweet corn (tis the season).