There comes a time in the summer when the corn comes in, and you have to work it when it comes, or lose it forever. Rural folk understand this. Last week my daughter brought me the overflow from a picking of corn, and today Belle decided to process it. Clean the ears well, blanch them in boiling water, then cool then rapidly in ice water. Then, we cut them off the cob, and "milked" the cobs to get the sugar out of it.
The net product was a gallon freezer bag full of cut kernels. Tomorrow, Belle will add real butter and seasonings (salt and pepper) to make fresh cut-off-the-cob creamed corn. She will serve it with a chicken-and-rice dish, and fresh baked rolls.
If the assemblage doesn't like that, Popeye's is just down the road.
We always did the same, but put a can of evaporated milk in with the butter and seasonings. We would often freeze it like that, and have it for the winter. Of course, this was at least 50 years ago, when I was a kid. I am now 62, so that tells a lot.
ReplyDeleteYoung people today in some ways have it easy, and in some ways have it rough. It is far easier to go to the store and buy a can of corn, already processed, and probably cheaper too. But you lose the taste, satisfaction of doing it yourself. Back when my parents and grandparents were alive, it was much cheaper to can and freeze your own food as much as possible. And just knowing how to so, would count for a lot, if hard times ever hit. Like they are hitting now.
Unless you raise your own food, and have to buy it, now with the cost of things, it is likely way to expensive. You cannot just buy a bushel of tomatoes for 3$, or a peck of peaches for 2.50$. Or go to an orchard and pick up drops, apples that fell off the trees, for 3-4 $ a bushel, depending on the type.
The biggest thing that I think I miss is just sitting in the shade tree, with my grandmother, or my mom, or both, snipping beans with them, or peeling apples, or some such chore. Life has gotten so fast, that it makes me long for some of those times. But it also makes me appreciate them as well.
Have a great Sunday, and a safe and productive week ahead.