Canning Corn – The Ultimate Guide

Our ultimate guide to canning corn will cover both cream corn and whole kernel corn with delicious preserving recipes that will allow you to enjoy fresh corn all winter. 

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Canning Corn From Scratch

Corn is a low acid food so when canning corn we will not be able to safely can it using the water bath method but the pressure canner must be used. 

You will first need to look up your current altitude and then find how many pounds you will need to can the corn at based on that altitude. For us, it is 10 pounds. 

For These Recipes For Canning Corn You Will Need

Before you start canning corn you’re going to need a few supplies:

• A Pressure Canner
• Clean Canning jars checked to make sure there are no nicks and cracks quarts or pints depending on the recipe.
• New flat canning jar lids
• Canning jar ring lids
• Towels to fold up on the counter to protect the surface
• A clean washcloth or lintless towel or paper towel
• Debubbler or a wooden spoon with a long narrow handle
• Bottled Water
• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Hot pan Holders
• Apron to protect your clothes
• Brush for getting the silk off the corn
• Stockpot to boil water
• Measuring spoons
• Labels for canning jars

Ingredients:

• Bottled Water (can use tap but we use bottled)
• salt
• Fresh corn on the cob that is juicy.

Canning Corn – Whole Kernel

Before you start canning corn, clean your surface and make sure it is clean and free of debris. You will need lots of elbow room for this. 

• Corn on the Cob – You will need 3 to 6 pounds of ears of corn per quart of whole kernel corn you make
• Salt (optional)
• Water
• Clean Quart Jars

Directions For Canning Corn Whole Kernel:

We like to raw pack our corn. It just takes so much less time and when you are doing a lot of corn, it counts. When you have been canning for hours it can tend to make your feet and back hurt so a nice memory foam type rug is a back saver when you are in the kitchen for hours. 

In a large stockpot boil your water.

Begin by taking your corn and husking it. Then take a clean brush and brush the corn free of the silks. 

When you are done with the husking and brushing set up your cutting board making sure it is silk-free. Place the corn on its widest end and with a sharp knife carefully cut the corn off the cob. Do not scrape the cob. 

Take these kernels and loosely pack them into clean jars. You can make them into pints or quarts depending on what serving size you need for a meal for your family. We did pints. Do not push them down in the jar.

Using a ladle, our boiling water into your jars of corn all the way to 1-inch headspace. Your debubbler tool has the one-inch mark on it to help you see what this is. Take your debubbler or the wooden spoon handle and put it inside the jar and push toward the center of a jar. Do this all around to remove the bubbles trapped in the corn. 

With a clean lint-free cloth or paper towel wipe the rim of the jar clean. 

Place a new clean flat canning jar lid on the top of the jar and on top of it put a ring lid tighten lightly. If you tighten too much it will make your jars not seal properly.

Place them in your pressure canner with the proper amount of water in the bottom of the pan by the manual for your pot. 

Make sure the rack is in the bottom of the pan to protect your jars from direct heat which can break them.

Place your jars filled with corn on the rack in the pan. 

Place the lid on the canning pot and the weights that are necessary depending on the altitude where you are canning. 

Turn on the heat until your weights start wiggling. Turn down until the weight is gently jiggling but not overly so. 

Process pints for 55 minutes and quarts for 1 hour and 25 minutes. For us, it is 10 pounds of pressure. 

When your timer goes off do not touch your pressure valve or the weights. You will hurt yourself!

Turn off your heat on the burner and if you can pull it on a cool eye on the stove do. Otherwise, leave it off to cool there.

Wait until the pressure valve on your pressure cooker drops down and the pressure is gone in the pot. When it has released the pressure open the lid and remove your jars with canning jar tongs to a countertop with several layers of towels to protect it from the high heat.

The water in the corn will still be boiling as you remove them from the pot to the towel. Be very careful not to burn yourself!

Let your jars of canned corn sit upright and undisturbed for 24 hours. Do not turn them upside down. You will begin to hear the jars popping. This is a joyful sound that tells you that your jars are sealing. If after cooling any have not popped, and when you poke them with your finger the lid depresses and makes a clicking sound your jar didn’t seal. Put the unsealed jars in the refrigerator for eating or try the canning process again with a new flat lid. Throw the failed lid in the trash.

When cool label and date your jars remove the rings and store on shelves in a cool, dark place. That’s all you have to do for canning corn. 

Canning Corn – Cream Style

So you are dreaming of canning corn. Not just any corn but delicious cream corn. Can’t you just taste it?

Before we jump into the world of canning corn, first I have to tell you that you can’t actually can cream but you can the base of this cream corn and we will walk you through the rest of the recipe. 

For this canning corn recipe, you will need:

• 1 – 1 1/2 pounds of corn (ears) per pint of the canned product. (8 – 12 pounds of corn for a full canner of 8 pints of cream style corn)
• Salt (if desired)
• water (we use bottled)

Directions For Canning Corn Cream Style

Make a large spot for you to work with a bucket or trash bag handy. We take the scraps to our compost pile to nourish our garden again in the spring. 

Husk all of your corn and using a little clean vegetable brush scrub the corn free of silk. 

Clean up your working area and rinse your corn. 

Fill up the stockpot and start it heating. You want it to be boiling by the time you are done with the corn.

I like to get a large baking pan at this point but a bowl would work. Take a sharp knife and place your corn thick end down and cut 3/4 of the kernels off of the corn cob. Let them fall into the bowl or pan.  You can leave behind the small tip ends. Then taking the knife, scrape your cobs releasing the milk from the corn and the bits of corn left in the cob. Do this to all of your corn. 

Measure your corn into a pan and put 1 1/4 cups of boiling water per pint of corn and corn milk. Boil 3 minutes and then fill your jars leaving an inch of space at the top (this is called headspace) at the top. Your debubbler tool should have measurements to help you. Sit it on the edge of the jar and the stairstep measurements will guide you in the proper headspace.

Using the skinny end of your debubbler or the thin handle of a wooden spoon place it in the side of your jar and push gently toward the center. Turn and do it again. Repeat until you have gone all the way around.

Measure in 1/2 tsp salt in each jar (if desired)

Using a clean lint-free cloth or paper towel wipe the rim of the jar. 

Place a new flat lid on the jar and a ring lid on top. Tighten it to fit but don’t overtighten it or it will make your jars not seal properly.

Place your pressure canner on the stove

Make sure the right amount of water is in the canner per the instructions in the manual of your specific canner.

Place the jar rack into the canner and start adding your pint jars to the pot. When they are all in the pot place the lid on the pot and secure it properly.

REFER NOW TO YOUR CANNER MANUAL

For our canner (Presto) we put the proper amount of weight depending on our elevation. For here it would be 10 pounds of pressure. 

Start the stove heating up. You will see steam come out of the pot and then the little pressure valve will go up. On ours, the weights will begin jiggling.

REFER NOW TO YOUR CANNER MANUAL

At this point, we turn down the heat a bit so it gently jiggles and does not release all of the steam. It will deplete your water in the canner and can break your jars.

Process pints for 1 hour and 25 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure (check the chart for your altitude).

When the time has expired, turn off the eye of the stove.

If it can be done safely pull it off the hot eye. If not, let it cool there.

Do not take off the weights, do not force down the pressure valve. This could cause injury!

Leave canner to cool and release the pressure from inside the pot. 

When the pressure regulator falls back down it is then safe to remove the lid. 

Again, read your manual for particular directions for your model canner. 

Be very careful, your canner and jars and the water is very hot. The corn will still be boiling when you remove it. You can leave them inside the canner to fully cool or you can use the jar tongs made for canning to remove them. 

Prepare your counter surface by putting multiple layers of folded thick towel.  Place the hot jars on the towels and leave them right side up for 24 hours undisturbed. You will begin to hear popping.  This is the sound of your jars sealing. When they are cool poke the top of the jars and make sure you don’t hear a clicking sound when you touch it and the lid does not go up and down. If it did your jar didn’t seal properly. Place it in the refrigerator or try to can it again using a new flat lid and throw that flat lid away. 

When your creamed corn jars are cool label and date your jars remove the rings and store on shelves in a cool, dark place. 

Bonus Canning Corn Recipe:

Cream Corn Recipe

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Put your corn and juices from your jar, add 1 Tbsp of sugar, and cook gently until the corn is tender. If it looks too dry add a couple of tablespoons of water.

Check for seasonings and add any salt or pepper you may want.

In 3/4 cup of cold milk, cream or half and half add 1 tbsp of flour. Stir to get out clumps and add it to the corn. Stir constantly on low until thickens. Do not boil. Serve when thick

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