How to Can Fresh Corn
If you are running out of freezer space or just want an alternative to freezer corn, canning corn is a great way to put up all of that corn you grew this year {or stocked up on}.
Ingredients
20 lbs of corn in husk {will yield 9 pints}
Directions
Fill a pressure canner with 4 inches of water, place the rack in the bottom of the canner, and then place the canner on the stove and bring the water to a boil over low heat. Fill a medium sized pot with water and bring it to a boil.
Shuck your corn. Make sure to get off as much of the silk as possible. Next, cut the kernels from the cob–I don’t use a fancy tool, just a sharp knife. Don’t worry about the corn being in strips–it will break apart into separate kernels during the canning process.
Fill clean, dry, sterilized jars 1 inch from the top with corn.
Cover the corn with boiling water within 1 inch of the top of the jar and remove any air bubbles.
Carefully place the jars in boiling water, on the bottom of the canner rack. The water level in the canner should be at 3 inches by now. If not, add more boiling water until you are at 3 inches.
Raise the temp to med- high and place the lid on the canner. Set a timer for 10 minutes to allow the steam to escape. DO NOT put the weight on the canner yet.
After 10 minutes of venting, tighten the side clamps.
Put the 10 pound weight in place and make sure any openings are now closed and allow the pressure to build to 11 pounds.
Once the pressure canner reaches 10 pounds, set your timer for 55 minutes {see chart below} or 85 minutes if you are processing quarts. You may need to adjust the heat {I did} to maintain 10 pounds of pressure.
Once the 55 minutes are up, turn off the heat.
Walk away, go find something to do until the pressure in your canner drops to zero {my canner made a “ping” noise when it hit zero}. Do not attempt to open your canner until it is at zero. Big No No!
Once the pressure in the canner has dropped to zero, remove the clamps, and remove the lid. Carefully place the jars in a draft free area {I always place my hot jars on a towel}.
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Canning Corn – How to Can Fresh Corn
Ingredients
20 lbs of corn in husks {will yield 9 pints}
Instructions
Fill a pressure canner with 4 inches of water, place the rack in the bottom of the canner, and then place the canner on the stove and bring the water to a boil over low heat. Fill a medium sized pot with water and bring it to a boil.
Shuck your corn. Make sure to get off as much of the silk as possible. Next, cut the kernels from the cob–I don’t use a fancy tool, just a sharp knife. Don’t worry about the corn being in strips–it will break apart into separate kernels during the canning process.
Fill clean, dry, sterilized jars 1 inch from the top with corn. Cover the corn with boiling water within 1 inch of the top of the jar and remove any air bubbles.
Carefully place the jars in boiling water, on the bottom of the canner rack. The water level in the canner should be at 3 inches by now. If not, add more boiling water until you are at 3 inches.
Raise the temp to med- high and place the lid on the canner. Set a timer for 10 minutes to allow the steam to escape. DO NOT put the weight on the canner yet.
After 10 minutes of venting, tighten the side clamps.
Put the 10 pound weight in place and make sure any openings are now closed and allow the pressure to build to 11 pounds.
Once the pressure canner reaches 10 pounds, set your timer for 55 minutes {see chart below} or 85 minutes if you are processing quarts. You may need to adjust the heat {I did} to maintain 10 pounds of pressure.
Once the 55 minutes are up, turn off the heat. Walk away, go find something to do until the pressure in your canner drops to zero {my canner made a “ping” noise when it hit zero}. Do not attempt to open your canner until it is at zero. Big No No!
Once the pressure in the canner has dropped to zero, remove the clamps, and remove the lid. Carefully place the jars in a draft free area {I always place my hot jars on a towel}.
Check seals {they will be indented if you canned the beans properly} and after the jars have fully cooled down, wipe clean and store in a cool dark pantry {or cupboard} away from heat.
Looking for a few more canning recipes? Search my Full List of Canning Recipes
Looking for a good canning book? Here’s a list of my favorites:
- Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
- The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
- Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It
- Food in Jars
- The Amish Canning Cookbook
- Not Your Mama’s Canning Book
Also, check out these tutorials if you’ve never used a canner before:
Tutorial: Hot Water Bath Canning
Tutorial: How to Use a Pressure Canner
Leanna says
I buy a corn canning acid – which means I can cut the canning time for quarts down to 30 minutes. Canned corn is great for a quick pot of chicken corn soup. Also, I have a corn bread recipe that uses whole kernal corn – and this is great for that.
Rita says
Where do you get the acid for canning corn?
Tammy says
would it be 20 minutes for pints then using the canning acid?
Jessica Claire says
Can you can it with out the pressure canner? Just the boil in water way?
Emily Levine says
You have to use the pressure canning method since there is no acidity to the corn.
Bonnie says
No you have to pressure can corn
DO NOT use a water bath canner
Linda says
I found a couple of time savers. Cut corn with an electric knife and a bundt pan.
Also I heat my lids in the crock pot as too many things on stove.
CJ says
Linda, according to Jardine (the folks that make canning jar lids) it’s no longer necessary to heat your lids. As a matter of fact, it could cause them to thin and not seal correctly. You simply wash them and put them on the jars. If you are processing more than 10 minutes in a water bath or using a pressure canner.
Julie Berdan says
If using as a side vegetable, do you have to cook it some?
Wendy says
What makes the corn turn brown and how do I avoid this?
Shiral says
Its the sugar in the corn that makes it dark the added acid will help prevent this.
Debbie wegryn says
How much citric acid or fruit fresh is needed?
Bonnie says
I just canned 3 dozen ears of corn and my average was 1 dozen per 3 pint jars after you pack it in your jars as tight as you can and i added 1/2 teaspoons salt per jar and pressure canned for 55 minutes
Debra says
Did you use the canning acid with the salt? I want to try this and is unsure as to if I need both.
Thank you in advance
Jeannine says
In reading more current instructions regarding canning corn, they all say that corn canning has been nixed for several years now. It is not safe for the body; the ingredients are harmful. I have had forn using corn acid and do not care for the flavor, either. Anyway, new research shows no corn acid EVER, NEVER water bath. Fruit Fresh (but it has dextrose and other additives; you can use plain ascorbic acid, too -I think it is ascirbic acid, might be citric acid) can be added to preserve color, but it does nothing for preserving safety. Corn is considered the most difficult vegetable to can due to its high propensity to harbor botulinum spores. One thing that makes it more dangerous, too, is that people want to pack the jars tightly with corn, and it is already dense and hard to get that elevated heat to the center of the jar without tight packing. So, pack corn loosely, add Fruit Fresh equivalent to preserve color and oh, yes, you can use Pickle Crisp, too, to preseve crisp kernels. Another piece of advice is to buy a new canning book that has been newly written or revised that reflects advances in canning safety – at least every 7 to 10 years. And you can always call your county exchange office, or Ball Co, who is very up-to-date about canning safety. Living around the Amish and being an Amish driver makes me warn about anything they say about canning. They have not been brought up to date on safe canning mrthods for at least the last 100 years.
Chris says
I don’t know where you got your information, but, the National Center for Home Food Preservation still says it’s safe to can corn…http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/corn_kernel.html
tammie says
my gosh i have canned corn for 40 + years and have never had an issue , you just have to take a little time and do not hurry the process , and most definently pack corn loose to pressure can, it is the best corn ever in the cold snowy months ahead
Jeannine says
At this point (a year later) I don’t know where I found the information I posted above. I love corn, and just finished canning some, and will be doing more in a couple of weeks. I know corn is not the best food for you health-wise, and I try to eat things that are healthy, but we are preppers and canning corn is the way I want to go to provide us with food “just in case.” So, no matter what I said above, I am canning corn! I cold pack, do not press it down, and this last batch forgot the citric acid but will use that when I do my next batch. I pressure can for the required amount of time, and try extra-special hard to follow all directions when it comes to canning corn. Nevertheless, even though I had checked all of the seals and washed all of the jars (bands removed) with dish soap and water, when my husband transferred the corn to the shelves one of the lids came off. Not sure how that happened, but it got put into a batch of already cooked green beans that were in the fridge, and instead of just beans, we had succotash! I do, however, try to be very careful in canning corn, as I have heard lots of stories about jars not sealing, corn in cans spoiling, etc. Whenever I start canning season again, I get out my trusty canning book and make sure that I follow all directions – just in case I have forgotten something from the previous year. Mostly I have been successful in canning corn, having lost only 2-3 years in the past several years. I wouldn’t discourage people from canning corn, just make sure you follow all directions – do NOT pack corn tightly in jars, use citric acid if you wish to preserve color, Pickle Fresh for crispness if desired, make sure there is enough head room so that siphoning does not occur, and ALWAYS use a pressure canner. If you do not have one, don’t can vegetables. Simple as that. You can buy a good Presto canner on Amazon right now for $70.11. It is listed as “used – very good condition,” and is sold by Amazon Warehouse. It comes in damaged original packaging. Or you can pay $84.98 for a brand-new Presto canner. This is the big, 23-quart canner which holds 2 layers of pint jars. The 16-quart Presto pressure canner is $79.09. If you are going to can safely, there is no way to do it without a pressure canner – no way to preserve food safely without investing in a canner. Do the research, choose your brand, but this is the one I came up with. And I would highly advise the use of a Presto Steam Gauge, which replaces the pressure relief valve and means you don’t have to constantly monitor the gauge to make sure it stays within the correct pressure range. You just listen to the jiggle (still requires that you be in the room with the canner), and can go about doing other things in the kitchen as the jiggler is doing its little dance.
I have become very disabled in the past year and usually need somebody to help with the food preparation and canning, but sometimes I am able to do it pretty much by myself except for lifting the heavy utensils. My husband takes care of all of that for me. I love the Presto canner (I have one of each size) with the replacement Presto Steam Gauge. When using the Steam Gauge the pressure gauge functions but is not reliable, but does manage to give an indication of how close the canner is to reaching pressure and how long until the pressure is down. Also, another little trick I have learned – to help resolve siphoning issues, do not open the canner immediately when the pressure drops to zero. Just remove the jiggler and turn off the heat, and allow the canner to cool for 5-10 minutes, then loosen the top and just set it askew for another 5-10 minutes. The slower cooling period seems to help keep siphoning from happening out of the jars.
Happy and safe canning!
Margaret says
I’m wondering if you could oven can corn? I’m new to canning, so far I’ve done everything in the oven, but I’m told some vegetables go bad if done that way. I don’t have a large pressure canner….
Jeannine says
Oven canning is not safe. Here is what the Nation Center for Home Food Preparation says: Is it safe to process food in the oven?
No. This can be dangerous because the temperature will vary according to the accuracy of oven regulators and circulation of heat. Dry heat is very slow in penetrating into jars of food. Also, jars explode easily in the oven.
Kathy says
I would think that (if you followed all the proper canning procedures) you probably got some defective lids. It has happened to me. Oven canning is a big no no. Even though my MIL, (who taught me how to can) waterbathed everything, anything that is low acid should be pressure canned and that is how I do it. I don’t put anything in my vegetables except maybe some salt, but then not always. When corn goes bad, it stinks to high heaven. Botulism on the other has no odor.