There is nothing like eating freezer cream style corn while the snow blows outside during the winter months. The taste of sweet corn kernels, soaked in a beautiful butter sauce, made all on its own through the cooking process and a little bit of butter, water, and sugar.
My childhood summers included marathon corn-freezing day. Once everyone had consumed as many cobs of corn as possible, which was still at its peak, it was time to freeze sweet corn for the winter months. I can remember my dad cutting corn off the cob in the garage on a card table. It was all hands on deck.
Jump to:
Why You'll This Recipe
- Time Tested and Approved
- Freezes Beautifully
- Gluten Free and Low FODMAP
Featured Ingredients
- Sweet Corn On The Cobs - Look for freshly picked corn with a bright green husk. This is important to preserve that sweetness. Once the corn is picked off the stalk, the sugars start to turn into starches. That is why sometimes cobs of corn do not taste as sweet. It is all about eating or freezing the corn as soon as you can once picked from the field. You want to capture as much of that natural sweetness as possible. It is what makes frozen corn so good.
- Butter - Make sure the butter is salted. The butter paired with the natural “corn milk” released when you cut the corn off the cob creates a beautiful cream sauce.
- Sugar - Just a bit of sugar to complement the natural sugars in the corn. I was told not to leave this out, and I am a rule follower.
See the recipe card for the exact measurements and complete instructions. Selected ingredients are based on guidance on current serving sizes measured by the Monash University Food App and FODMAP Friendly App at the time of publishing. As always, follow your gut and modify as needed.
How To Prepare The Corn
Find the freshest local corn you can. This could be at a farmers market, a roadside farm stand, or even the grocery store. Do not use sweet corn with dents or hard kernels.
Husk the ears of corn right before you are ready to process them. This is important so the corn does not dry out. Rinse off any corn silks. It may feel impossible to get all of them off, but I consider it part of the texture of homegrown sweet corn processed in your kitchen versus a canning factory.
With a serrated knife, or the sharp knife you have you need to trim the corn kernels off the cob. Cut about ⅔ of the kernel is off. You do not want to get any of the actual cobs. Some people would use an electric knife, too. Cut the cobs of corn over a cake pan or bundt pan as an easy way to catch the cut kernels. A cutting board will also work, but be prepared for some corn kernels to fly off the board.
After cutting the kernels off, rub the back of your knife to squeeze out any of the juices. This will create the cream sauce.
Add the butter and water to a large stockpot over medium heat. Bring it to a boil and melt the butter completely. Next, add the sugar and salt and stir until dissolved.
Next, add ten cups of uncooked corn kennels to the stockpot. Over medium heat, stir constantly for three minutes. This will cook the corn, but not too much, so it doesn’t become mushy.
How To Freeze The Corn
Pour the corn mixture on a single-layer large cookie sheet or cake pan to cool. Place the cooked corn in the refrigerator. If you do not have refrigerator space, create an ice bath to cool the corn quickly. This is important because heat will create condensation, and the corn will not freeze well.
Once the corn has cooled, label four freezer bags. To prevent freezer burn, use ziplock bags that are freezer-friendly. Label the quart bags with the date. This will be helpful on the freezer clean-out day, and you find a rouge bag of frozen corn and have no clue what year it is from. Labeled bags solve mysteries.
Place two cups of cooled corn inside each bag. I use a ½ measuring cup because it is easier to fit in the small bags. Do not leave any of that creamy corn juice on the bottom of the pan!
Lay flat and squeeze out as much air as you can. Place the bags on a baking sheet to freeze. Once frozen, place in a basket and a deep freeze.
Remove the frozen corn from the freezer when you are ready to enjoy all your hard work. Heat the frozen corn in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, or in a microwave-safe bowl with a cover for two minutes. Stir and microwave again for two minutes. Add salt and black pepper for the perfect side dish!
Tips and Tricks
Double or Triple the Recipe—With a little bit of effort, you will easily have more bags of frozen corn to enjoy later. I figured the dishes were already dirty, so why not?
Amount in Bags- Feel free to adjust the amount of corn in the freezer bag. If you know you will only eat one cup of corn as a side dish, then adjust the amounts to what works for you!
Best Sweet Corn for Freezing- There are specific brands that are grown for preservation. If you want to plant that variety, I highly recommend going to a seed house and asking the experts. If you are local, we love the Albert Lea Seed House. They have many varieties and will help you determine the best sweet corn seed for you.
FAQs
If the corn was packaged in a freezer friendly zip top bag or an airtight container, frozen corn will last up to twelve months. Be aware that the quality will decrease as time passes. For best results, eat the frozen corn within four months.
Freezing corn keeps the flavor and the authentic taste of sweet corn. The cooking process of caning corn will change the flavor of the corn. A good example is to compare a can of corn versus a bag of frozen corn from the grocery store. While they are similar, the texture and flavor can be different. Fresh, frozen sweet corn keeps the sweetness of the corn. Whatever method you use, preserving corn for later use is always a good idea.
Meal Planning
There are so many ways to enjoy frozen corn! The first option is the easiest: Serve it as a side with BBQ bacon chicken, baked ham steaks, or crock pot pulled pork. Use it as the corn ingredient in gluten free corn pudding, crockpot corn casserole, or a warm crock pot Mexican street corn dip. Just defrost the frozen corn first so it cooks correctly. Need a quick fresh corn salsa for taco night? Sub in a bag of frozen fresh corn.
Additional Recipes Using Corn
Recipe
Freezer Cream Style Corn
Equipment
- freezer quart size plastic bags
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter salted
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 cups corn kernels cut off the cobs about 14 cobs, regular sized
Instructions
- Husk the sweet corn and rinse off any corn silks with water.
- With a large knife over a container to catch the corn kernels, such as a cake pan or bundt pan, trim the corn kernels ⅔ of the way off the cob.
- In a large stockpot, add the butter and water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Once the butter melts, add the sugar and salt and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Next, add ten cups of cut corn kennels to the stockpot. Over medium heat, stir constantly for three minutes.
- Pour the cooked corn on a large cookie sheet or cake pan. Place the cooked corn in the refrigerator to cool. If you do not have refrigerator space, create an ice bath to cool the corn quickly. This is important because heat will create condensation, and the corn will not freeze well.
- Once the corn has cooled, label freezer-friendly quart-size ziploc bags with the date.
- Place two cups of cooled cooked sweet corn inside each bag. I use a ½ measuring cup because it is easier to fit in the small bags. Lay flat and squeeze out as much air as you can. Place the bags on a baking sheet to freeze. Once frozen, place in a basket and in a deep freeze.
Reheating Instructions:
- When you are ready to enjoy all your hard work, remove the corn from the bag and heat it in a small saucepan over low heat or a microwave-safe container until heating through. Add some salt and black pepper for the perfect side dish!
Christine Perkins says
Only four stars because recipe says in step 2 to add butter and water but ingredient list does not say how much water. I returned to my previously used recipe because of this. Please add so those of us who would like to try this recipe can do so without ruining the hard work preparing the corn. Thanks
Venessa Mandelkow says
Hi Christine - I'm so sorry for the mistake in the recipe. I have fixed it. Thank you for letting me know. -Venessa