by EMERSON SLOANE
I went out this afternoon and purchased five more ears of fresh corn on the cob. This brings my count to 30 ears. I'm going to roast and then freeze 25 of them this weekend so I can put them up for the winter months. Roasting the fresh ears in the oven gives them a smoky, intense flavor and doing it yourself gives your corn such an amazing flavor you can never find in bags of frozen corn at the supermarket. And it's easy to do.
Just roast the ears in the oven under your broiler, turning until they show a little brown on them, and then slice the kernels from the cob into a bowl. Next, spread out the kernels in a single layer on a baking sheet and stick them into your freezer for an hour. Then, transfer them into freezer bags. You can take out as much as you like from each bag during the months corn is out of season for meals, for relishes, chowders, etc. Don't worry---we'll keep you busy with plenty of recipes for that corn during the winter. Freezing them briefly first on baking sheets prevents the kernels from clumping together later in the freezer.
Why freeze your vegetables for winter instead of canning? There are many reasons besides the fact that it's just easier to do it. If you garden, freezing your vegetables instead of canning lets you freeze odds and ends from your own garden in small batches, if you like. Canning doesn't give you the versatility of combining things and with freezing, you needn't worry about acidity or salt, etc. Especially favorable for freezing for off-season vegetable eating are asparagus, broccoli, peppers, green beans, corn, and summer squash.
Not only is freezing your seasonal vegetables faster, there's no need to worry about boiling containers, sterilizing, purchasing glass jars, storage, etc. And when it's easier to do it, you can make a solid commitment to getting fresh vegetables in season and then preserving them for the months they're not freshly in season. You'll get all the great flavor of seasonal vegetables and fruit, but none of the time intensive hassle that your grandmother had with canning.
By the way, with the other ears of fresh corn, I'm going to make some ginger bacon butter. Want some?
1/2 lb salted butter (softened)
1/2 cup bacon fat
1/3 cup grated ginger (use a microplane)
3 garlic cloves (grated on the microplane)
zest of 3 limes (taken off with a microplane)
juice of 3 limes
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Fresh corn (in the husk)
Combine all seven ingredients in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until it is evenly blended. Using a spatula, turn the butter onto wax or parchment paper and mold it into a log. Chill.
It's so, so, so good. Thanks Chef Vivian Howard, for the recipe.
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