Preserving Corn: How to Vacuum Seal and Freeze Corn on the Cob

Sweet corn on the cob is a summertime staple, grill some up and serve it during your back yard BBQ, or cut some off the cob and throw it into a salad for the perfect side dish.

Summer is when we see fresh ears of corn go on sale at the grocery store or local farmers market for pennies a piece, and it’s the perfect time to stock up. And with our step by step guide, you can buy fresh corn on the cob in bulk and freeze some for later.

Unfortunately like most fresh vegetables, corn on the cob can have a short shelf life, the sugars begin to break down, it dries out and can over mature quickly. Within a day or two of getting our corn, we turn around and process them to be stored in the freezer. If there is any delay until you can freeze them, make sure you keep your corn stored with the husk on and in the refrigerator.

There are many different ways you can prepare your corn. We are showing you the step-by-step process we did to vacuum seal and freeze our corn.

See how we did it:

Materials Used:

Avid Armor Vacuum Sealer

Avid Armor 11x50 vacuum sealer roll

Shucking the Corn on the Cob

• First things first, shuck your corn and remove as much silk as you can.

There are many tips and tricks out there for shucking corn, but we found it easiest to chop the ends off first and then starting at the top of the ear, pull back the husk and silk. This way seemed to be pretty efficient and removed most of the silk the first go round.

Blanching the Corn on the Cob

Vegetables have enzymes on them that can break down the nutrients, colors and flavor when stored in the freezer long term. To combat this, you should always blanch corn prior to freezing it.

Boil the Corn

• Once your corn has been husked, it is time for blanching. Place the ears of corn in a boiling pot of water for approximately 5 minutes.

Place the Corn in an Ice Bath

• After boiling, immediately put the ears of corn in an ice bath to stop the cooking process and prevent the corn from over cooking.

• Leave the corn in the ice bath for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a strainer to drain and pat dry with paper towels.

Vacuum Seal the Corn on the Cob

• Once the corn is dry, it is ready to be vacuum sealed.

There are several different ways to store your corn. You can just put the plain ears of corn in a vacuum sealed bag, this will give you the most flexibility if you don't know how you intend to eat it down the road. You can also vacuum seal them with butter and other seasonings in the bag, making it easy to go directly from the freezer into the microwave for steaming, or into a water bath for sous vide cooking. And lastly, since the corn has already been boiled, you can cut the kernels off the cob and vacuum seal. This makes it easy to add fresh corn to homemade salsa or a salad.

We packed our corn multiple ways. First, we made our own bag from an 11 inch vacuum sealer roll to fit 4 ears of corn perfectly.

We also cut some off of the cob and put in a small pint sized vacuum sealer bag.

• Once you have all of your bags prepared, using your vacuum sealer, seal all of your bags.

• Make sure your vacuum sealed bags have a good seal to prevent any air from getting into the bag.

Freeze the Corn on the Cob

Once you’ve properly vacuum sealed your corn on the cob, it’s ready for the freezer. Place your bags in the freezer and your vacuum sealed corn will stay fresh without compromising the flavor and texture for up to 2 years. Now how's that for fresh?!!

Do you have a favorite corn recipe? Share it with us and we will feature it on our blog!