I have many memories of being "put to work" husking corn in the backyard of 1615 Lake Avenue. It was a family affair. Over the years my parents created quiet a system for this yearly project. Each year they improved on their designs and now they have one very effective set up.
As us girls got older (therefore less interested in corn for the winter) Grandma Ellen would rope us back into the process. In my later high school years I remember husking corn for hours with her in her garage listening to NPR. That is my family joke about putting up corn...... if you put up corn with Grandma you listen to NPR and if you put up corn with Dad you listen to old country. This year it was all old country. However, I would give just about anything to get to sit in Grandma's garage and husk corn again. She is so missed!
It wasn't until I moved to Omaha and met "city people" that I realized that not every family puts up massive amounts of corn for the winter. I had so many friends ask about the process. So this year I took my camera along and took pictures of the whole process for anyone interested! Be prepared for lots of pictures of CORN!!!
The first step in the process is to buy the corn. Living in Gothenburg we have an endless supply of corn. This year Mom and Dad bought 200 ears or a 1/4 of a pick up load. This is a MAJOR scale down from growing up. Normally we would have a WHOLE pick up load.
After the purchase of the corn is complete it is time to husk the corn. This is a long process and a fairly dirty one. Drew enjoyed perfecting his corn husking skills.
The end product is some really nice looking corn. If only it stopped here. :)
While the husking of the corn takes place Dad is busy at work setting up everything else. We have two burners to boil the corn, two tubs (one with cold water, one with ice water) and a carving station.
When we are ready to go it is a process that goes for hours. The corn boils for 3 minutes, soaks in cold water for 3 minutes, soaks in ice water for 3 minutes and then heads to the carving station.
In case you are wondering this is what Heber did the whole time we worked. We did learn that he LOVES to eat corn. Cob and all!
Once the corn has been cooked it moves on to the carving station. This is an invention of my parents. It make the process so smooth. I remember back in the day doing it other ways and this takes the cake.
The corn goes on the nail and one person cuts off the kernels with an electric knife. Another person scoops the corn to the hole and down into the bucket. Brilliant!
Finally the corn is scooped into freezer bags. We flatten the bags for quicker flash freezing and also they are easier to store. When placing them in the freezer they need to not overlap until they are completely frozen. This means you need lots of freezer space.
Overall it was a fun weekend with my parents back home. I love walking down memory lane and having good corn in the winter is PRICELESS! Here is a final picture of Drew and I. Don't mind my hair or outfit. It was very cold (first time putting up corn in the cold) and on corn day no one does their hair!
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