Recipe Wednesday: How to can the perfect corn. . .

Excerpt from a 1946 Canning cookbook

Corn is one of the largest packs put up by the commercial canners. It is canned cream style, in which the grain is cut from the cob and remaining pulp scraped off and added, and whole grain style, in which the whole grains are used.

At the beginning of the season corn is deficient in sugars, therefore, sugar should be added. There is a great deal of difference in the sugar contents of corn in different parts of the country. In Maine, for instance, the sugar runs from one-tenth to three-tenths per cent higher than in the Middle West.

Much depends upon careful selection of tender juicy corn before it reaches a starchy stage. It should never stand longer than a few hours after being taken from the stalk. Corn which has passed the milk stage or is stale is very difficult to sterilize.

Scraping corn 1935 by Arthur Rothstein (Library of Congress)

HUSKING

With a large, sharp knife trim off the butt end of cob, cutting off a little of the corn under the husk; the husk will then remove easily.

TESTING FOR CANNING PURPOSES

This method is recommended by a farmer’s wife of Central Illinois:

“Test corn for canning purposes by pressing with thumb or finger on some of the grains until they burst, and if a very thin milk substance flows freely, you will know that the ear is just right for canning.

“If the ear has a creamy appearance, the husk on the grain is tough, and a thick substance is shown when tested, discard such ears. Such corn will have a cheesy appearance when canned, and is very difficult to sterilize.”

Selecting corn that is in just the right stage for canning purposes – packing it loosely rather than too solidly in No. 2 (pint) C enameled or plain cans (C enameled preferred) – processing as directed in the time table – and cooling quickly in several changes of cold water – will eliminate trouble.

DISCOLORATION

A dark color in canned corn may be due to:

Using water that contains too much iron.
Using corn that has reached the tough stage
Over-processing at too high a temperature.

Corn – Whole Grain Style

Use C Enameled or Plain Cans

Cut corn from cob, put in kettle. Cover with water, and bring to a boil, stirring to prevent burning it. Put ¾ cupful of hot water in which corn was boiled, or ¾ cupful of boiling water into a No 2 (pint) C enameled or plain can (C enameled preferred) . Then put in two cupfuls of the hot, drained, whole grain corn. Add 1 teaspoonful of salt and 1 teaspoonful of sugar if desired. Seal with Home Can Sealer.

Proces 55 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. Cool quickly in several changes of cold water. Dry, label and store.

Corn – Cream Style

Use C Enameled or Plain Cans

Cut corn from the cob, then scrape it, and put into kettle. Cover with water, bring to a boil, stirring to prevent burning. Pack hot into No. 2 (pint) C enameled or plain cans (C enameled preferred) to within ¼ inch from the top. Add 1 teaspoonful of salt to each can, and 1 teaspoonful of sugar if desired. Seal with Home Can Sealer.

Process 95 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure. Cool quickly in several changes of cold water. Dry, label and store.

Corn on the Cob

Use Plain Cans

Select fresh, tender, uniform ears of corn. Clean, blanch, and pack at once. In packing, alternate tips and ends of ears until the can is filled. Add one teaspoonful of sugar and one teaspoonful of salt to quart pan. Fill cans within ¼ inch of the top with boiling water. Seal with Home Can Sealer.

Process No. 3 cans 40 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. Cool quickly in several changes of cold water. Dry, label and store.

Field Corn

Use C Enameled or Plain Cans

The corn should be selected between the milk and dough stage, and should be canned the day it is picked.

Cut corn from cob and grind through a food chopper. Put in kettle, add one level teaspoonful salt per quart. a little butter, and sweeten with one teaspoonful sugar. Cook, stirring constantly until the product has become a thickened or paste-like mass. Pack immediately into C enameled cans to ¼ inch from the top. Seal with Home Can Sealer.

Process 95 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. Cool quickly. Dry, label and store.

After this product has been sterilized, cooled and stored, it will form a solid, butterlike mass. When removed whole from the cans, it may be cut into convenient slices. toasted or fried for breakfast. Served with jelly, it has a rich omelette flavor.

Granite Ware 0707-1 Steel/Porcelain Water-Bath Canner with Rack, 21.5-Quart, Black

About Donna R Causey

Donna R. Causey, resident of Alabama, was a teacher in the public school system for twenty years. When she retired, Donna found time to focus on her lifetime passion for historical writing. She developed the websites www.alabamapioneers and www.daysgoneby.me All her books can be purchased at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. She has authored numerous genealogy books. RIBBON OF LOVE: A Novel Of Colonial America (TAPESTRY OF LOVE) is her first novel in the Tapestry of Love about her family where she uses actual characters, facts, dates and places to create a story about life as it might have happened in colonial Virginia. Faith and Courage: Tapestry of Love (Volume 2) is the second book and the third FreeHearts: A Novel of Colonial America (Book 3 in the Tapestry of Love Series) Discordance: The Cottinghams (Volume 1) is the continuation of the story. . For a complete list of books, visit Donna R Causey