Today I would like to tell my readers about how to pickle corn for the winter. I got several jars of this amazingly tasty delicacy. Moreover, now is just the time when corn needs to be put into action.
No one argues that you can buy corn in the store. But I don’t like what’s on sale at all. So this year I decided to pickle my corn. And as it turned out, doing this at home is not at all difficult.
I want to show you what I did. And in the comments I would like to hear how you feel about this preparation.
Cooking rules
Canned corn began to be produced en masse in the second half of the last century. However, industrially produced products are not always pleased with the quality, so you can preserve corn yourself.
For preservation, you need to choose cobs with grains at the stage of waxy ripeness. That is, the grains should already acquire a characteristic yellow color, but at the same time remain soft. If you try to preserve overripe corn, the grains will remain hard, even after prolonged heat treatment.
The hardest part of cooking corn is separating the kernels. To make this process easier, it is recommended to blanch the cob. It should be immersed in boiling water for half a minute, and then immediately transferred to a container with ice water.
To prevent jars with blanks from exploding, you need to be very careful in preparing dishes and sterilizing containers and canned food.
Interesting facts: the birthplace of corn is South America. Interestingly, corn does not sow itself. If a whole cob falls to the ground, it will simply rot and not germinate. Therefore, this plant cannot grow without human participation.
Composition and calorie content
The product contains the following macronutrients:
- 2.3 g protein;
- 1.2 g fat;
- 14.3 g carbohydrates (of which 4.3 g sucrose, 2.0 g fiber and 8.0 g starchy substances);
- 81.4 g water;
- 0.8 g of ash.
100 g of product contains 58 kcal.
In addition to macronutrients, canned corn contains the following micronutrients:
Vitamins
- Beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant and protects the body from the effects of free radicals and radiation.
- Retinol – improves the functioning of the optic nerve.
- Alpha tocopherol is an antioxidant that improves the condition of skin, nails and hair.
- Ascorbic acid is an immunostimulant that increases the body's protective functions.
- Thiamine – regulates metabolic processes, strengthens the nervous system.
- Riboflavin – participates in the formation of hemoglobin, improves the condition of hair and nails.
- Nicotinic acid - takes part in the synthesis of proteins and triglycerides, and also helps reduce cholesterol levels in the blood.
- Choline – optimizes the amount of glucose in the blood, calms the nervous system.
- Pantothenic acid – has a healing effect, activates the process of creating antibodies in the blood.
- Pyridoxine – optimizes the composition of human blood and is able to regulate the process of sweating.
- Folic acid – controls the process of correct formation of the neural tube of the fetus in pregnant women, promotes the growth and development of the child’s body.
Microelements
- Sodium – in combination with potassium, is an integral part of the “pump”, which regulates the processes of muscle contraction and relaxation and conducts nerve impulses.
- Potassium acts as a stimulator of muscle contraction and relaxation.
- Phosphorus is the main structural component of cell membranes and, along with magnesium and calcium, performs a structural function.
- Magnesium is a structural element of bones and teeth and acts as an activator of enzymatic reactions in the body.
- Calcium is the main structural material of bone tissue and tooth enamel.
- Selenium is an antioxidant that stops the growth and development of cancer cells.
- Zinc – has an anti-inflammatory effect and takes part in the body’s metabolic processes.
- Iron – normalizes the process of hematopoiesis and is the main component of the hemoglobin molecule.
Canned corn in jars
To prepare canned corn kernels in jars you will need:
- 1 kg of corn;
- 1.5 liters of water;
- 6 tablespoons sugar;
- 2 tablespoons salt.
We clean the cobs from leaves and fibers. Cut the grains with a sharp knife. We try to move the knife as close to the core of the cob as possible.
Advice! If you cut off part of the core of the cob when cutting the kernels, don't worry. This husk separates during cooking and floats to the surface of the water, so it can be easily removed.
Place the grains in a saucepan and fill with water so that the liquid level is 3 centimeters higher than the level of the grains. Bring to a boil. This will create quite a lot of foam, which will need to be carefully removed with a slotted spoon. Reduce the heat so that the liquid barely simmers and cook the grains for an hour.
Then put the colander in another pan and discard the corn (do not pour out the broth). Place the finished grains in clean and dried 0.5 liter jars (smaller if possible). We fill it a little lower than “up to the shoulders.”
Useful tips
To make canned corn tasty with minimal effort and time, remember the rules:
- For canning at home, you should choose only young specimens: old corn may not cook properly even after prolonged heat treatment. It’s easy to determine the quality of corn: press the tip of your fingernail onto the grain: if it’s easy and no juice comes out, the corn is ideal for canning; if juice appears, the corn is still too young.
- To simplify the process of separating grains from a corn cob, you need to immerse it in hot water for 10-15 seconds, then cool it sharply in cold water.
- The sterilization process must be repeated, and the duration of one procedure should not exceed 10 minutes.
- During the cooking process of corn, a large amount of foam forms on the surface of the water. It must be removed as it appears.
Pickled corn for the winter, in grains
To make sweet and sour corn kernels, use this recipe.
- 850 gr. corn grains;
- 1 liter of water;
- 15 gr. salt;
- 25 gr. Sahara;
- 1 bay leaf;
- 1 tablespoon of vinegar (9%) per half-liter jar.
We clean the cobs from leaves and fibers, put them in a saucepan and boil until tender. Cool the boiled corn. Then carefully husk the grains by hand or cut them with a sharp knife.
Place the grains in clean and dried jars at three-quarters of the height. Prepare the marinade by boiling water with bay leaf, salt and sugar. Take out the bay leaf. Pour a spoonful of vinegar into the jars and fill them to the top with hot marinade. Cover the jars with boiled lids. Sterilize the jars in boiling water (at low boil) for 1 hour. Then we remove the jars from the water and immediately roll them up.
How to store?
Storing canned food seems simple. © https://ydoo.info/product/konservirovannaya-kukuruza.html However, you should remember the terms and conditions for storing products.
Conditions
You can store canned corn either in the refrigerator or at room temperature. For a closed tin can, temperatures up to +25 °C are suitable. A glass jar should be stored exclusively in the refrigerator, but for a tin jar, both a refrigerator and a kitchen cabinet are suitable.
Term
Under proper conditions, the shelf life of corn in a tin can is 3 years, and in a glass jar - no more than 2 years.
If the can was opened
If the can has been opened, it is best to use the corn right away. If there is a need to preserve leftovers, the open jar can be placed in the refrigerator, but the shelf life of corn there is only a day.
Can it be frozen?
Unused corn can be frozen. Before putting it in the freezer, you need to drain the remaining liquid and dry the grains thoroughly with a paper towel. After this, transfer the corn kernels to a plastic bag or plastic container and place in the freezer. The shelf life of the product under such conditions is about 6 months.
Frozen corn contains fewer nutrients than it originally had, although the taste does not disappear.
Pickled corn on the cob
You can pickle corn on the cob. To prepare this preparation, you need very young ears of milky ripeness.
- 20-30 young ears;
- 2 tablespoons of vinegar (6%) per 1 liter jar;
- 1 bay leaf per jar;
- 2 tablespoons of salt (per 1 liter of marinade);
- 2 tablespoons (per 1 liter of marinade).
We select young cobs of small, preferably small size with grains of milky ripeness. We clean them of leaves and fibers. Place the peeled cobs in a saucepan, fill with cold water and put on fire. Bring to a boil and cook in boiling water for 5 minutes. If we use corn at the stage of milky-waxy ripeness (the grains have already turned yellow), then we need to cook longer - 15-20 minutes.
Remove the cobs and pour cold water over them. Then place the corn on napkins and let dry. Place the cobs into jars. We lay them vertically, tightly, like cucumbers. Place peppercorns and bay leaves in each jar. Add vinegar. In a liter jar - two tablespoons, in a half-liter jar - one.
Cook the marinade: boil a liter of water, dissolve salt and sugar in it. Pour the hot marinade into jars. Sterilize liter jars in boiling water for 90 minutes, half-liter jars for 60 minutes.
Rules for the selection and preparation of raw materials
Harvesting corn for the winter is not difficult, but this task requires a fairly serious investment of time and careful implementation of all the recommendations set out in the recipes. The fact is that sweet grains contain a large amount of sugars and starch, and there are practically no acids in their composition that could serve as natural preservatives. It is with these features that some “rigorities” are associated with the issues of selection and pre-processing of the original product, as well as pasteurization of filled cans.
Similar requirements for the duration and temperature conditions of raw material processing apply to pickled green peas.
Methods for storing corn for the winter involve canning whole cobs or grains removed from the stalks. Young heads of cabbage are often included in mixed vegetable marinades, step-by-step recipes for which can be found in the article “Pickled Assorted Vegetables for the Winter,” published on our website.
When collecting or purchasing raw materials intended for pickling, it is important to fulfill the following conditions:
- cobs selected for whole canning should have a length of no more than 12-15 cm, the grains are milky-white in color, with thin skin and semi-liquid pulp (when pressed with your fingers, the grains are flattened and clear juice flows out of them). The stumps of such fruits are easily cut lengthwise and crosswise;
- “Older” heads of cabbage, 20-25 cm long, are suitable for harvesting individual grains. The grains in this case are light yellow and denser, but their skin is easy to pierce with a fingernail;
- For pickling, it is better to take raw materials collected no more than 2-3 days ago. You should not use cobs that have been completely or partially cleared of outer leaves;
- The outer “clothes” of the heads of cabbage should fit well to the grains, have a green color and a fairly decent thickness. The presence of whitish or thinned leaves indicates long-term or improper storage of raw materials;
- Corn kernels that are dull, wrinkled, or too hard should not be pickled.
In the photo - mini corn or baby corn. It is considered the most useful, as it contains practically no starch.
Before cooking, purchased or grown cobs must be cleaned of outer leaves and numerous fine hairs (remnants of stigmas), particles of which, when included in the marinade, often cause spontaneous “opening” of the jars. Then the heads of cabbage are thoroughly washed in running water, removing the smallest traces of plant debris, and blanched. Specimens of milky ripeness intended for canning along with stumps are left whole or cut into pieces. With cobs from which you need to remove grains, you should do this :
- peel, rinse, put in a saucepan and add hot water (you cannot add salt to the water, this will make the grains coarse and hard);
- bring to a boil and simmer for 25-30 minutes;
- Remove from heat and let cool without draining. It is not recommended to cool the raw materials “forcibly” (for example, in running cold water), as this spoils the taste of the finished product;
- Use a sharp knife to cut the grains off the cobs, leaving about a quarter of each seed on the stump. The “noses” of the grains contain the largest amount of starch. They do not heat well during cooking and pasteurization, so the canned foods they come in are very difficult to preserve.
Store-bought canned food turns out to be “sugar” because it does not contain acid - in fact, it’s just grains in their own decoction
The canned sweet corn sold in stores is made without added acid. The preparation of such a product requires prolonged heating in an autoclave at a temperature that is difficult to achieve in an ordinary kitchen. Therefore, we advise housewives to marinate corn. The vinegar included in the preparations serves as a preservative and ensures the preservation of the taste characteristics of the raw materials.
Sweet canned corn
Preparing canned sweet corn is not difficult, but the sterilization process takes a long time. You will have to keep the jars in boiling water for at least 1.5 hours, otherwise there is a high risk that the canned food will spoil.
- 10 ears of corn;
- 1 liter of water;
- 1 tablespoon salt;
- 2 tablespoons sugar;
- 1 tablespoon vinegar (9%).
The corn on the cob must be fresh, otherwise the canned food will not taste as rich and sediment may form on the bottom. The fact is that the sugar in corn beans turns into starch during storage, and this affects the taste.
Use in cooking
Today it is almost impossible to organize a feast without a salad that uses pickled corn.
But you shouldn’t limit the culinary “abilities” of this preservation only to salad dishes: it will be an excellent additional ingredient for main dishes.
For example, it can be used in the preparation of baked meat (pork, chicken, beef), soups, stews, and also served on its own as a separate dish.
Find out the benefits and harms of corn for weight loss.
Cooking without sterilization
The need for long-term sterilization scares many housewives, and they do not want to make canned corn. We offer a version of the recipe without sterilization. But such canned food will need to be stored in the refrigerator or in the cellar.
- 15-17 ears of corn at the stage of milky-waxy ripeness;
- 1 liter of water;
- 1 tablespoon salt;
- 2 tablespoons sugar;
- 2 tablespoons vinegar.
We clean the corn cobs from leaves and fibers, wash them thoroughly and place them in a saucepan with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the corn using a slotted spoon and place in cold water, preferably with ice.
Dry the cooled cobs and then separate the grains. Place the grains in jars, filling them three-quarters full. Fill the jars with boiling water, cover with boiled lids and leave for a quarter of an hour.
Drain the water into the pan, bring it to a boil again, and pour it into the jars a second time. This time we wait 10 minutes. While the jars are warming up. Prepare the marinade by boiling a liter of water with salt and sugar. Boil for a couple of minutes, then pour in vinegar and turn off the heat.
Drain the water from the jars and fill them with boiling marinade. Immediately roll up the lids tightly. We place the jars upside down to check the quality of the closure and wrap them in warm blankets. We take out the jars no earlier than in a day.
Advice! Corn cobs can be preserved in a similar way.
Harm and contraindications
Maize, like any other food product, can cause individual intolerance and an allergic reaction in the body. When introducing it into the diet for the first time, you should use it carefully, in small quantities, gradually increasing the serving size. If, when consuming a small portion of an eaten product, manifestations of an allergic reaction of the body occur (redness of the skin, rash, itching, difficulty breathing), you should immediately contact a specialist and completely exclude it from the diet.
You should completely eliminate corn consumption if you have the following body conditions:
- Thrombosis.
In its chemical composition, maize contains a large amount of vitamin K, which has an active blood clotting function. This can be dangerous for people suffering from this pathology. - Gastrointestinal diseases in acute form.
The cereal has a rough structure due to the high content of polysaccharides in it, which can have a traumatic effect on the inflamed walls of the stomach and intestines. - Insufficient body weight.
Due to its low calorie content and active biological composition, the product can be classified as dietary. When depleted, it can be dangerous, as it activates intestinal motility and reduces appetite.
Also, products made from genetically modified raw materials have a negative impact on the body, which completely negates all its beneficial biological properties.
Corn salad with vegetables
In this recipe, pickled corn is cooked along with vegetables. It turns out to be an almost ready-made salad.
- 1 ear of corn at the stage of milky-wax ripeness;
- 1 young zucchini;
- 1 small celery root;
- 1 carrot;
- 1-2 pods of bell pepper;
- 150-200 gr. cauliflower inflorescences;
- 300 ml water;
- 1 teaspoon salt;
- 1 tablespoon salt;
- 1 tablespoon vinegar (9%);
- pepper to taste.
We clean the corn cob from leaves and fibers. Boil until tender (20 minutes). There is no need to drain the broth; we will use it to prepare a marinade.
What can be made from the blank?
As you can see, there are many different recipes for preparing corn for the winter, but even more recipes can be found using this product in various dishes. Thus, corn can be used to prepare soups, sauces, main courses (baked potatoes, fish, rice, meat, etc.).
What can you cook? Canned corn is perfect for various vegetable salads, casseroles and even cutlets. And canned corn with vegetables can become a complete savory snack that will appeal to lovers of tasty and light dishes.
That’s probably all there is to know about the intricacies of canning corn for the winter. You will certainly be able to appreciate all the recipes presented above and try to cook at least one of them in your kitchen. Culinary inspiration to you and bon appetit!
Frozen corn
Corn can not only be canned, but also frozen. You can freeze the cobs or the grains separately.
You can freeze raw corn on the cob, but only use fresh cobs that are milky-waxy ripe. If the corn is a little overripe, it is better to first cook the cobs until tender, and then freeze them.
Before freezing, the stems are cut off, the leaves are removed, and the fibers are removed. Then they are washed and dried well. The cobs are packaged in bags or tightly wrapped in several layers of cling film, and then placed in the refrigerator.
You can freeze corn kernels. To do this, place the cobs in boiling water and cook for 7 minutes. Then we transfer them to a bowl filled with ice water and let them cool. After this treatment, the grains will separate more easily. They can be peeled off by hand or cut off with a sharp knife.
The grains should be laid out on trays in one layer and placed in the freezer for 1-2 hours. Then the grains already “caught” by frost can be poured into bags or containers for storage. The shelf life of frozen corn is no more than 8 months.
How to choose corn for canning
Young cobs of sweet corn are best suited for preserving this cereal (there is also fodder corn, which can also be used in some recipes). Then the preparations will turn out soft and juicy.
You can check to see if the corn is overripe by running your fingernail over any kernel on the cob. If milk is not released, pulp remains on the nail - the product is not suitable for consumption either boiled or canned.
It is also better to choose cobs with succulent leaves and light hairs at the base.
Some tips:
- For canning corn, as for canning any other product, you need to use ordinary coarse table salt.
- It is better to take 9% vinegar. Moreover, it must be added after the liquid has already been removed from the heat - its effect will be stronger.
Both contribute to the long-term storage of homemade preparations.
Using any method of preparation, jars must be thoroughly washed and sterilized.
And now about how you can preserve corn for the winter, a few simple recipes.
