A Day in the Life on a Farm {Freezing Sweet Corn}

Although we live in Iowa, we don't live on a farm.

We live on an acreage in the country.

The closest thing we have on our property resembling a barn is a small livestock shed 

that we've converted to my shop.

Now, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law live on the real deal.

My BIL farms several thousand acres and raises 5,000 head of hog.

They have horses, cattle, and even a donkey.

When we want our kids to have the farm experience, this is where we go.

This summer, they helped pick up rocks from the fields and sort hogs.

It's good for them!

So, when it was time to freeze the sweet corn, off we went.

My BIL had already done the hard work of picking the ears, 

so when we got there the boys started shucking.

My two nephews and Ian...
They shucked directly into the skidloader bucket, so that the husks could be fed later to the hogs.

After shucking, they were placed in cold water...

Inside the machine shed,  the boys were washing the remaining strands of silk off the ears...

and Scott and I were busily taking the kernels off the ears....

{Yes, I did cut my fingers a couple of times before this city girl got the hang of it.  

I didn't bleed on the corn though...  My SIL gave me a glove.  LOL!}

Then scooping up all the kernels...

and putting it in a large tub:

About the time we finished this part it was Iowa game time, 

so we took a nice break and put the corn in my BIL's cooler.

{Yes...  For those of you who still believe that meat comes from the store...  Nope.  That be a big ole beef hanging out until my BIL butchers it the rest of the way.  There is nothing better than farm-raised beef and my niece and nephews have no clue how lucky they are that they raise their own food!}

After watching Iowa getting beat by Northern Illinois during a very, very close game 

(with lots of arm chair qb-ing going on), it was back out for the rest of the process.

After mixing in sugar, salt, water, and little butter in with the corn, 

we cooked it on an outdoor burner.

Brought to a boil...

Stirring...

Stirring...

Stirring...

{That's hot work!}

And let it boil for 5 minutes.

After we took it off the burner, we let it cool for 5 minutes, 

and started bagging it by the quart as soon as we could stand holding the freezer bags.

Isn't my nephew a cutie?
And a hard worker too!  He was out there for every part of the process!

As soon as the corn was bagged, we placed it in ice cold water to shock it.

As soon as the corn was cool to touch, we placed them in a single row on bakery trays...

And lugged them into the cooler.

All my nephews are cuties.
{My kiddos pretty much know to hide their faces or they'll wind up on here.  LOL!}

It was about 11 pm by the time the last batch was completed in placed in the cooler.

46 quarts of freezer corn in all.

I wish I had kept count of the ears of corn we shucked, but I didn't.

Farm girl, I ain't.

Scott stopped counting at his 200, when he realized I wasn't keeping track.

LOL!

All in all it was a good day's work and the corn will taste so good this winter!

And the snacks that we got to eat while working made it seem like nothing.

I mean, who else can go out to a cooler in the back yard and grab smoked ribs 

and pork/beef jerky to nibble on.

I think it was Ian's favorite part of the entire day!

And today, while the rest of America enjoys the day off, we're headed back to do more!

I don't think the kids will complain, as long as there are ribs involved.

I mean, would you?