Canning Corn at Home

Have you ever noticed that some of the things we always buy at the store are so much easier to make than we thought? Over the years we’ve become complacent buying everything at the store, and we find ourselves shocked every time we try a recipe ourselves and it is so easy, we wonder why we haven’t been doing it ourselves all this time, and chances are – it’s cheaper too!

One of the most popular canned items in our pantry is canned corn. It’s great in soups, recipes and until very recently, I was under the belief that it was a lot harder to do at home than it is. But, in what shouldn’t be a surprise to me (or really anyone), canning it at home.

On one of my recent market finds, I got a trunk drop of two boxes of corn. The order list said it had 18 ears of corn and the price looked great. But after I had shucked and removed the kernels from 25 ears of corn – the first box was pretty much still full. What had I done!? At the end of the day, each box had about 50 ears of corn, and I gave the second box to a friend who’s kids love corn. But the result – we have canned corn here for a good long time!

To can corn at home, you really don’t need much if you already have your pressure canning set up. Ingredients are simple – corn and water, and salt if you want it. Once you put the work in to remove the kernels, the hardest part of the process is done. While it’s a bit of work, it’s something we’re going to do each year, since we were able to get enough corn for our shelves for a year for pennies on the dollar!

One thing that absolutely shocked me (besides how easy it is to do), was the glass jars let you actually see the difference once the corn is processed. Unlike canning carrots, you can actually see the corn change some. When you add the uncooked corn to the jar it’s light in color and the water makes it seem a little murky with starches being released. But once processed, the corn turns that deeper yellow we’re used to seeing when you open up a tin can with corn in it. Yes, the corn has been cooked in the process, but it’s interesting to see the a difference in the corn as you do it!

What You Need

• Pint and Quart Mason Jars
• Pressure Canner
• Canning Funnel, Lid Lifter, Jar Remover
• Cutting Board
• Chef Knife

Ingredients

• 5 lbs (or more) of Corn Kernels, removed from the cob
• Salt (optional)
• Hot Water

Directions:

1. Shuck the corn and remove any extra strings as you do it.
2. Using your chef’s knife, remove the kernels from each corn cob and place it in a large bowl until you have removed all of the corn kernels from each cob.
3. Fill clean jars to about 1 inch from the top with corn kernels
4. Add 1/2 tsp salt to each jar (optional)
5. Ladle in hot water leaving 1 inch head space.
6. Place the lid on the top of the jar and tighten the band by hand.
7. Process with pressure canning instructions below.

Canning Instructions: 

1. In a large pot sanitize your jars. Place your jars in and fill with water. Simmer on medium (do not boil) until they are are warm.
2. In a smaller pan place your lids in water. Place this on low until you’re ready to use them.
3. Prepare your pressure canner – place the rack at the bottom.
4. Fill your jars with your corn kernels, add salt and ladle hot water over top leaving 1 inch of head space.
5. Add your lids and finger tighten the bands.
6. Place your filled jars into the canner and pour in hot/boiling water around them until the canner has about 3 inches of water inside.
7. Put your lid on and put the burner on medium-high heat. Have your lid at the venting position, until you start to see steam coming out of the lid. Let the steam come out of the vent for 10 minutes, Reduce your heat to medium then switch the dial to the 1 position (8 lbs). When steam starts coming out again start counting down your processing time of 55 minutes for pints, 85 for quarts.
8. When your processing time is over turn off your burner and let the canner naturally depressurize.
9. Remove your cans from the canner and place them on a dry towel on the counter. Allow to cool and wait for those wonderful pops! After 12-24 hours check to see if the seals are good.