Pickled corn

Our second planting of corn is just starting to come in. This year we made a real effort to plant at least 2 plantings of most vegetables. Mid summer when we were plowing and weeding the 2nd planting of corn we were all wishing we’d stuck to our usual garden technique of planting it all at one time! But the beautiful corn sitting in my sink over the weekend convinced us-staggered planting is something we should do every year-especially when it comes to corn.

Silver queen corn in brasstown

Earlier in the summer we made of a run of pickled beans and corn in a crock, but since we had so much corn over the weekend I decided to make a few jars of pickled corn. Back in 2009 when I shared Papaw Tony’s recipe for pickled beans and corn William Murphy left this comment:

I remember well my grannies pickled beans and corn. For those that don’t have a large crock, here is a simple ball jar recipe. Boil corn for five minutes. Drop in tub of ice water for five minutes. Cut off cob and pack in pint Ball or Mason jars. I like the wide mouth jars for this. Add one teaspoon of pickling salt per pint right on top of the corn. (use two teaspoons of salt if you are using some of the newer hybrid sweet varieties of corn). Pour hot water into each jar of corn until just about to run over the top of the jar. All corn must be covered with water. Add canning ring and lid but just screw down loosely snug. Place under kitchen counter for 9-14 days on top of a cloth towel. The jars will work off and emit some water. At the end of the 9-14 day period, take lids off jars and wipe down top of jars and lids to remove any residues that would prevent sealing. Reapply lids hand tight and place in water bath canner for 15-20 minutes. Let cool and lids should seal. Redo any jars whose lids do not seal. This method works very well for corn, beans, Okra, green tomatoes, or a combination of the above.

Ever since then I’ve wanted to try his method-it’s very similar to how Granny makes kraut.

How to make pickled corn

I cooked the corn for 3 minutes then let it cool in cold water and sliced it off the cob.

Pickled corn in the jar

I sterilized all of my jars and added 2 teaspoons of pickling salt to them.

Recipe for pickled corn

I filled the jars with corn-and poured warm water over the corn leaving 1/4 inch head space.

Finally-I added the lids and set the jars on a tray. So will it be any good? I’ll let you know in about 14 days! *UPDATE: The corn was wonderful!!!

Have you or any of your family ever made pickled corn like this? Or did you/they use a crock?

Tipper

 

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31 Comments

  1. So nice to see other pickled corn lovers out there. Growing up, my mom would make a large crock (which I’ve inherited) to feed our family of 10. I loved it so much. I’d pull an ear out, rinse it off and relish every bite. We’d pick everything we could off those cobs. My mom has been gone for many years and I haven’t been brave enough to try it yet. This post makes me want to try this year. Thanks for bringing back delightful memories.

  2. Have loved pickled corn and homemade kraut all my life. I buy both from Sue at Sue’s Burgers in Blue Ridge. I have some here now. Just like mommer ‘nem made.

  3. Tipper, I just had some of my corn I made 4 weeks ago an d it is great. I pickle peaches and cream sweet corn on the cob. I also pickle your chow. Since I got the recipe from you, I make it every year. You talked about water bathing you canned corn. I pressure can it. I put the corn in canner an d let it run up to speed and turn it off. Better that water bathing. I wish i could send you a pic of my latest batch of pickled corn. I think its the best I have ever made!
    Ron
    Pueblo, Colorado

  4. my grandma made pickled corn in jars said it never went bad we only had a crock we used to make buttermilk,so I think she used vinegar pickling salt does anyone know a recipe like that?

  5. That corn sure does look good..I remember helping put up many a jar and churn jar of it..Nothing any better..I do love the cream corn with biscuits too..You’ve made me hungry..lol.

  6. I thought I was the only one who had ever eaten creamed corn on biscuits for breakfast with bacon and tomatoes on the side! Thank you for bringing back a memory from when I was a kid.

  7. Tipper, I just got an email with some helpful household hints. Thought you might like the one where you use a bundt pan to assist with cutting corn from the cob. You use the hole in the center to hold the corn and the pan to catch it as you cut it from the cob. I’m sure you already knew that, but I had never heard it. I guess I will have to wait till next year to try it.

  8. Tipper and B. Ruth,
    I had a thought earlier today. With all the wonderful cooks on this blog, hope you’all don’t laugh but, do you reckon this lady might have been experimenting with “Leather Britches” when she came up with these pickled beans? The lady that told me about them said that when she first saw them she was afraid to eat them until others dug in. All this happened years ago but who knows?

  9. OK, I decided since this was a sort of experiment for me to fix our corn in jars that I would take it one step further. We have just learned this summer about fixing our corn on the cob in the microwave – in the shucks, DELICIOUS!! and I fix my corn for freezing in the microwave too – cut off cob raw, scrape, then put it into large pyrex bowl and microwave 4 minutes, stir, then mv 4 more minutes. Cool & put into containers or bags & put in freezer.
    So why can’t I do the same for the corn that goes in chow or pickled corn?
    I microwaved 3 ears at a time, still in shucks, for 4 minutes, took it out & let it sit while I put in next 3 ears (it steams inside the shucks). Then I shucked it (the silks literally pull off with the shucks, so easy you won’t believe it) & cooled it. Cut it off cob then & proceeded as normal.
    We’ll see – if it works, woohoo, if not, at least it was a good try & not much corn wasted in the process.
    I’ll let you know how my experiment goes.

  10. I emptied the Dum Dums out of my big old jar and made pickled corn in it. Couldn’t wait to try it and it turned out very good.

  11. My ex mother-in law always made her pickled corn in quart jars. She claimed it lasted for years. What I would give for a jar right now! I was visiting back home in the spring and found a store that was selling pickled corn made by a lady from Coburn, VA. It was fabulous! Her phone number is printed on the jars. I keep meaning to order…once I get my blood pressure under control.
    A Mom and Pop store on Mountain Parkway used to sell pickled corn on the cob right out of a gallon jar until the health department made her stop. After 12-14 hours on the road from Michigan to Eastern Ky, we couldn’t wait to stop there for some good old homemade and home grown food.
    Your corn is beautiful! How did you keep the deer and coons out of it?

  12. I don’t remember ever eating pickled corn. Sounds like it might be something good to try. Your corn looks absolutely delicious; I personally love white corn and/or the white/yellow corn with small kernels. Thanks for a new type of recipe for corn.

  13. Tipper,
    Your corn looks delicious! I’m not
    much for pickled stuff, but I have
    made kraut, pickling in the jars.
    I just like cold pickle juice to
    drink when my stomach is upset.
    To tell you the truth, I’m glad
    gardening is over for me this year
    cause I still like “junk” food too…Ken

  14. Tipper,
    and Bradley…My son makes a quick pickled black bean dish with corn, chick peas, etc. and uses as a dip or side dish…vinaery, sweet and sour..He is on restricted sodium so this is a dish he found he could use…
    My pickled beans were green..I always used Blue Lake because they grew straight and more round and just hung on the vine..perfect for packing in jars..I would make then hot witha cayenne pepper, garlic mustard seed etc…Sometimes I left out the pepper…My boys would slip to the basement before they had been in the jar a long time…(always better if you wait a few weeks until the flavors blend).. and eat a whole jar..the okra too..lol..My beans after processing were not black but still green…
    I have seen many black pickled bean recipes, but are not beans in the shell…they are shelled and some use dry cooked black beans…
    I would love to find out about a black bean whole pickled bean…
    Thanks Tipper, It is fun to hear about new ways of doing things and new recipes..

  15. I was able to make my first successful kraut in a glass gallon jug using a similar method this yr. Mama made it in quarts & put 1 tsp sugar & 1 tsp salt. I remember it “working out” on the front porch. I don’t think she ever processed it.
    We are trying to ferment some of our hot peppers to make hot sauce–they don’t seem to want to ferment very well. Maybe the lack of sugar.
    Anyway, I envy you that yummy late corn. I always mean to plant late stuff but usually don’t make it. One yr. my leaf lettuce went to seed, blew all over the garden & came up in late fall–it was an amazing field of lettuce.

  16. Mostly we do the crock method for all. So far we already pickled beans and chow chow in the crock. We’re eating the chow chow with soup beans faster than I can make it. It is my Mom’s family recipe I found. Alas, I am the only person who loves pickled corn , so I don’t make it. I am doing something I have not done much of before..planting a second garden of greens as soon as I pull up the beans and rake the soil, I can’t find seeds so planting some I had on hand. Love this site, and I cannot wait to see what each season brings on it.

  17. This is slightly off the topic but, I used to work with a lady that used to rave about a special type of pickled green beans. It seems that another lady she knew would bring pickled beans to what ever special occasion they were having. This lady’s mother had a special receipe for pickled beans that she would never share.
    Pickled beans are pickled beans I suppose however, these pickled beans were always the hit of the diners because they were so good. Here is what caused all the curiosity. Other than being scrumptious these beans were almost black after pickling. Wonder if if anybody has ever seen or heard of these beans?

  18. I’ve never had pickled corn, but lots of pickled beans and kraut. Mama made the best kraut, always in a crock that her daddy, a potter,made her. One fall she went to the garage to get a dish for supper only to find the crock half empty. I had been getting a bowl every afternoon as my after school snack. Now I make pickle beans in the fridge using canned green beans, canned corn, and a jar of kraut. I let the mixture sit overnight. Never as good as grandma’s beans, but just enough for my needs.

  19. I’ve never made pickled corn in the jar like that. I tried putting cabbabe in the jars like that to make kraut but it just didn’t work out for me.
    Tipper I have a small, 1 gallon, crock you can have…perfect for small runs.
    Anastasia, I am curious, in the Cyprus method for pickling corn, carrots,cauliflower, peppers, eggplant were they all salt cured or were some done with vinegar?
    That corn sure looks pretty!

  20. I don’t make pickled vegetables, but I’m sure Grandma did. We cut our corn off the raw cob, put it in a big pot with butter and a small amount of water, boil for 3 minutes, cool and put in freezer bags. It is delicious this way. So much easier than blanching the entire cob and cooling it in a sink of ice water.

  21. Tipper,
    I have never pickled corn in a jar or crock…Your corn is absolutely beautiful…Hot biscuits and butter, sliced tomatoes, hot creamed corn…yummm breakfast is ready…
    Did you ever eat good creamed corn over hot biscuits for breakfast…sometimes a slice of bacon on the plate with the tomatoes…
    Back to the pickles…I have pickled okra and green beans, peppers, and of course squash and cucumbers…
    I am such a scaredy cat, I won’t eat any canned vegetable unless it is processed in a canner. A water bath for pickles with either salt, sugar, vinegar, if the recipe calls for all of it…but that is just me…
    Hybrid tomatoes are not as acid as they were in olden days…
    I won’t even eat kraut, unless it is processed…I know my great Grandmother, Grandmother, Mother lived to a ripe old age eating kraut worked in a jar, but I just can’t do it. I have made kraut in a crock and then water bathed..but only once..My Fathers German family heritage, put the kraut, pickles, etc…in large crocks in the cellar, weighted down and dipped them out for suppers as needed…in the olden days…LOL
    I’ll be there for corn one day!
    Great Post Tipper, I am anxious to hear about your pickled corn
    turned out…

  22. Strands of pearls with flecks of gold. Beautifuel corn!
    Don’t see any signs of worm damage. How’d you keep ’em critters out?
    Yes I said beautifuel!

  23. We’ve always made pickled corn in a crock but I’ve been wanting to try this method for a while too. I really like the idea of being able to do a smaller amount instead of a whole crock. Thanks for posting this – I will get a few jars going today!! My DH’s family always left the corn in the crock for several weeks and just got out an ear as they wanted it but I can’t stand the smell of those rotten cobs & all the slime on the crock when you fish one of the ears out, so this should solve some of that issue for me 🙂

  24. In Cyprus, we love pickled vegetables such as corn, carrots, aubergines (eggplants), cucumbers,capers, cauliflower, spicy green or red peppers. But we also love corn on the cob cooked on charcoal grill. I so wish I had some of your pickled corn!!! It looks delicious!

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