How to Can Corn: An easy step-by-step guide

Learning how to can corn is an essential skill for a homesteader, or even casual gardener. Learn all about canning corn from start to finish with this step-by-step guide.

Who doesn’t love the taste of sweet corn? Did you know that, though usually served as a vegetable, it’s botanically classified as a fruit? The same as tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, and even squashes, because they grow from the flower of the plant.

When I was a kid, we used to plant corn as early as possible, so that we could harvest it as early as possible, before the worms and other bugs that inhabit the southern US in the summer got bad.

It usually worked pretty well, and made husking and cutting corn from the cob for canning a lot easier. After that first big batch of corn, we’d have smaller ones throughout the summer for eating fresh.

We kids spent a lot of time during the summer, sitting on the porch, husking corn, along with snapping beans so we could can green beans too. I’m not gonna lie, it takes a lot of corn to make a canner load.

But it’s worth having access to that garden-fresh corn flavor all year long, and having the satisfaction of filling your own pantry with food you grew yourself.

How to select the best corn for canning

This isn’t rocket science, if your corn is ripe, it’s ripe. Fat, full ears, with black silk at the top is a good indication of corn that’s ready to harvest.

Be sure to harvest your corn, and process it while it’s fresh. There was an old superstition in the Amish community where I grew up that you had to harvest corn for canning before the sun came up, or else your jars would spoil, but as far as I know there’s no merit to that. Probably something parents just told their kids to get them out of bed in the morning.

Does sweet corn have to be pressure canned?

Yes. While corn may technically be a fruit, it is a starchy, low acid fruit, and like canning potatoes, needs to be pressure canned in order to safely kill harmful bacteria. Water bath canning does not do the job here. If you’re new to pressure canning, don’t worry! It’s easy. Check out this guide to learn all about it.

But very simply, you’ll use a large pot with a locking lid, and a pressure gauge and/or weight. I use this canner which is a weighted gauge, which in my mind, makes canning very simple.

Instead of being covered in boiling water, a small amount of water will be used to create steam pressure. This allows the canner to reach much higher temperatures than simply boiling water would.

After the appropriate pressure level is reached, you’ll set a timer, to ensure your jars are heated long enough to reach the appropriate internal temperature.

After the time is up, remove your canner from the heat, and hey presto! That’s all there is to it.

You can go here to read the USDA guidelines on pressure canning., and read up on official home food preservation best practices.

Do you need to blanch corn before canning?

You may find varying opinions on this, but my answer is no, blanching is an unnecessary, messy, time consuming step.

Raw packing, or cold packing as it’s sometimes called, is better for canning vegetables, so that’s what is usually used for canning corn. This simply means that you’ll pack the raw (or cooled) corn into jars, and top it with salt, and then water.

Though it may result in some minor shrinkage during canning, the raw-pack method is much faster, since it requires no additional cooking. This also saves on extra dishes, and heating up your kitchen in the summer.

There is no need to blanch, boil, or hot-pack corn. 

Tools needed for canning corn

We’ve already touched on the pressure canner above, so let’s go over the others.

To prepare the corn, you’ll need a sharp knife cut kernels from the cob. I have never had much success with a cobbing tool. I have this one, and don’t like it, but I can see how a handheld like this would work – I just haven’t tried it.

Instead, I use a knife, hold the corn vertically in a large bowl, and cut down each side. It’s actually pretty simple, and with some practice, you can do it very quickly.

You’ll also need canning jars. This one is a no brainer. You choose the jar size depending on your needs. For a large family, quarts might be best. For our small family, we usually use pint jars.

If you’re using brand new jars, you’re probably using the lids they came with. If you’re reusing jars, you’ll need to new lids to go with them. Common brands are usually available at stores like Walmart, but I usually order Denali canning lids in bulk. These have worked flawlessly for me. and have a money-back guarantee.

Canning funnel. I always say everything except the jars and canner are optional, but truthfully, a canning funnel makes life so much easier. You can label food into your jars so much faster without making a mess, or getting the rim of your jar dirty.

Why is the processing time for canning corn so long?

Corn does take longer to can than a lot of other produce. This is because it’s a starchy, low acid food. In this recipe, I’ve used the USDA recommended times. They test foods and determine the length of processing needed to eliminate the risk of botulism.

You may find conflicting recipes online. You may see “rebel canning” guides, designed to make you feel like you’re the smart one if you follow them, but of all vegetables, corn is not the one to be played with. I’m telling you this as someone who grew up surrounded by home canners. Even the old fashioned Amish who didn’t believe in using the technology of pressure canners (yes, for real), treated corn with respect. Why? Because we all knew the stories, or had seen it personally. “When in doubt, throw it out” sometimes got interpreted as throw it into the pig’s slop bucket, and ended up killing pigs and chickens.

I’m not trying to scare you – I’ve been eating home-canned corn my whole life. But I just want you to respect it, and refrain from cutting corners.

The Method

Canning corn starts with husking the corn. I’m not gonna lie, this can be time consuming. Just rip the husks off, and pull as many of the silks away as you can, then set them aside.

1. Once you’re done husking, cut the corn off of the cob. This can be done easily with a paring knife. Hold the corn nearly vertical in a large bowl, and cut the kernels, parallel to the cob in a downward motion. Below, just above the printable recipe card, you will find a video, showing demonstrating this.
2. 
3. After your corn kernels are free of the cob, fill the bowl with water, and stir through the corn a bit. This should make most of the remaining silks float up to the top.
4. Pour the liquid off, with as many silks as possible.
5. Pack corn into sterilized canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace in each jar.
6. Top the corn with salt, using 1/2 teaspoon for each pint, or 1 teaspoon for a quart.
7. Fill jars, just covering the corn kernels, with fresh water.
8. Wipe jar rims with a clean cloth of napkin to remove any debris, then screw lid and ring down firmly.

To can the corn

1. Prepare pressure canner. You canner should have come with specific instructions, so follow those. If you have a 16 quart canner, this will probably mean filling it with 2 quarts of water, and putting the rack in the bottom.
2. With this size canner, you should also be able to fit seven quart jars without them touching each other.
3. Place jars in canner, then lock down lid, making sure the steam valve is open.
4. Heat canner over medium-high heat until steam begins to escape the valve in a steady stream.
5. Let steam vent for ten minutes, then close the valve and heat canner to ten pounds of pressure (at sea level see this guide for canning at your altitude), and keep pressure even for 1 hour, 25 minutes.
6. After the processing time is done, remove the pressure canner from the heat, and let return to zero pressure naturally.
7. Once the pressure has dissipated, open the steam valve before opening the lid, just to be sure.

You can let the jars cool completely inside the canner (the safest option), of if you need to use the canner again, wait as long as you can, then carefully remove the lid, and use a towel to hold the hot jars. This helps protect the jar from sudden temperature changes, and also protects you from hot shattered glass and food if it does break (jars are pretty tough, so it shouldn’t, but just in case, it’s worth taking some precautions).

Set the jars in an out of the way place where then can be undisturbed as they cool, and cover them with the towel for protection from drafts.

After 24 hours, check seals, wash jars if necessary (I have to wash hard water stains off of all my jars. Or if one broke, or the lid came off during canning, you may need to wash the stickiness off of jars), and store in a cool place out of direct light. (e.g, you pantry, under the bed, basement, etc.).

Other canning recipes for you:

• How to can zucchini
• Canning strawberries
• How to can beets
• Canning cabbage
• Canning pinto beans
• How to can diced tomatoes

 

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