This is our second post in the Preserving the Harvest Series and this one is on sweet corn.
In Australia it is not recommended to put corn through our water bath system (Fowlers Vacola). It would be suggested that corn be frozen, but our freezers are filled with meat and I don’t have room to store vegetables as well.
I am so blessed by the canning system and that an import company arranged to get canners in from America to make it easier for us Australians.
I would suggest to anyone with heaps of produce that canning is the way to go. I use our Fowlers bottles in my canner as well as recycled screw top bottles.
If I am preserving meat I use our big bottles but when it is corn or peas I only need smaller amounts for stews so I need a smaller bottle.
We are in the middle of picking our Sweet Corn and I have started canning it, and we are eating heaps just boiled (my husbands favourite way of having it).
First of all we shuck the corn (I think that is the technical name) and we give all the shuckings (is this right???) to the pigs.
Then we bring it inside and blanch the corn for a few minutes. I had such a hard time getting my water to boil that I just put all the corn into the pot and brought it to the boil.
After it has been blanched I let it cool and then I cut the kernals from the cob into a container. Over the past years I have tried various tools for this but now I just use a sharp knife and this works well.
Here it is in the container once it has been cut off the cob. It is good to get rid as much of the silk (hair) as you can before boiling.
Then I get my jars ready and filled with hot water so they warm up.
Here they are ready to go. I use recycled jam and honey jars as well as any bottled sauce jars that I can scrounge off friends. I have heaps now which is good.
Now I tip out the hot water and add the corn and then fill the bottle with boiling water leaving the recommended head space. The green handle is used to get out any air bubbles. I then put on the lid and place in the canner.
Here are the 17 jars in the canner, you can see the recycled lids. I have doubled layered these and you just need to be careful not to knock them over as you move the canner.
I then follow my canner instructions in the booklet provided, it took about 60 minutes to process these bottles. The larger the bottle the longer the processing.
![DSC_1023[1]](http://darlingdownsdiaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/DSC_10231.jpg)
Once the canner is finished and the pressure has gone (never open before the pressure is released) I take out the bottles and put on the bench to cool off. The lids will pop in and show that they are sealed, mine were quite noisy this year.
I am weird I think because I really enjoy canning and I love seeing all my jars in my pantry, but I have a hard time using them in case I run out.
Last year I did soups and stews and carrots and pumpkin and I have some of these left, so maybe I will just have to start using them, so I can fill the bottles again.
Wow, that is quite an endeavor! I understand about how hard it is sometimes to “use up” things that we are putting away for storage. About this time of year, towards the end of winter here, I begin to get really serious about using up things I put up last year to make room for this year. 🙂
Thanks for your comment and it seems that I am not the only one who likes to not run out :-). It is good to empty jars so they can be filled again, as my husband says, keep it fresh. Thanks for stopping by, blessings to you and yours.
Oh, you warm my heart to see corn on the cob, and think of summer coming! We are finally going to get a hair above freezing today and all our snow will be melting off, hooray! I grew up in Oregon and every summer we’d can and freeze heaps of corn too! I could just smell and taste it while reading your blog!
Thanks Jeannie for stopping by an commenting. I have just finished blanching another pot of corn this morning. It is a wonderful opportunity to grow and preserve our harvest to feed our families and especially corn because it tastes great. Hope spring keeps coming for you. Blessings
So…beautiful…I may just sit here and stare…for awhile. LOVE.
Is there a particular book on how to safely bottle using your method? Our government has strict guidelines on what’s safe, and only certain jars can be used–never never never reuse a lid, etc. Of course our “seasoned” homesteaders say they used whatever they could get their hands on–but I found no book. I want a book really bad. This is something else I am putting on the visit list 🙂 . You never cease to amaze me!
Blessings,
I think I have a big problem with authority because when someone tells me I can’t do something I usually challenge it, especially if it is the government. I might need to do some praying on this issue :-). I only have the same book you would have, the one that came with my canner. Our canners are imported from America. It seems to me that if you have to buy new lids every year and new rings (for our water bath method here) then it doesn’t make it as good as option. I don’t use damaged or rusty lids and if my rings are too stretched I throw them away. Sometimes there just isn’t a book of common sense issues, maybe we should write one. This would be a great time of the year to visit, then you could help me with my preserving. Blessings
If would be a great time. I would love to help you harvest, do some last minute foraging and then you could settle down for the winter when we went home. (And read through Romans it sounds? 🙂 .)
Very cool that you got a book with your canner.
Blessings,
Maybe I should start on Romans first??? I thought everyone got a book with their canner. I can photocopy mine and email it to you if you like? It would be fun doing it together. Blessings
You are so sweet. I have bought many that are in my collection 🙂
Yep that’s me, sweet as can be !!! ;-). Blessings
This is good information Terri, I am glad you share your harvest experiences here too.
God Bless and enjoy the rest of the season.
Thank you so much Ifeoma, blessings to you.
I’m like that with my preserved foods too. “We can’t eat them! Those foods are for later.” My husband thinks I’m crazy. But it’s a lot of work, and it’s almost like it needs to be a special occasion to eat the preserved foods. Hopefully this year I’ll be able to put up more foods so that I won’t feel so possessive. Your corn looks beautiful!
I with you Jennifer, maybe we are crazy :-). I think the corn looks great and colourful, thanks for your comment. Blessings
Awesome! You have a lot of wisdom and know how that lots of ladies would enjoy! 🙂
That corn looks great! You will sure enjoy that in the cold months!
Do you grow any for winter feed for the animals?
There’s been some years here, in the past 3 or 4, where there’s been lots of field corn and then a drought hits along side 100+ degree F (37.7 + C) heat for weeks on end, and so the insurance agencies and govt tell the farmers if they want to they can use the corn/stalks for sileage to feed the livestock and insurance will cover the loss of the prospective amount of bushels per acre.
And you’ve got a good outlook on what govt says 😛 There were many people bottling/canning before government stuck their noses in and they made it to have more generations after them so they must have done something right!
Hey there, thank you for your encouragement, I really appreciate it. We don’t grow corn for stock feed our corn we grow is sweet corn and they do grow maize here for the animals but it is grown more north of us. That is quite interesting about the insurances agencies and the govt, we haven’t had anything like that here.
Thanks again for stopping by and always having something so encouraging and nice to say. Blessings to you and yours.
There is nothing better than to can your vegetables, they are so much better than store bought, healthier and the price cant be beat. Corn was one vegetable I did not can but all others I did including fruits and jams.
Thanks Karren for your comment and sharing your journey with us. I really enjoy canning and the thought of being able to provide for ourselves without buying anything. Blessings.
Guys I’m in England and use a lot of traditional preserving techniques such as; bottling, salting, pickling, dehydrating, curing, making jams, soups etc etc. This year, 2017, has been a brilliant year for our produce. We are just off to Venice and a gale has flattened our corn. So reading your canning technique we quickly harvested all the sweet corn and I’ve frozen some but bottled the rest. Thanks so much, I’ve got a pic of the loaded pan but cannot see how to send it to you. God bless. Clive.
Hi Clive, it sounds like you have a lot of work on your plate with preserving your harvest and running your restaurant. I hope your trip to Venice was good. Blessings
Enjoying reading through your site! I have never reused kids in canning, but it surely would save money! Like you, I enjoy canning but don’t do near what you do!
Lids, lol, not kids!
Hey Myra, thank you for your comment it was nice to hear from you. I must admit I’m a bit tight and will push the envelope with lids and rings. Have a great weekend. Blessings