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To Can Corn

Preserving corn by canning it in sealed jars.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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To Can Corn

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the corn

  1. Split the kernels lengthwise with a knife and scrape with the back of the knife, leaving the hulls on the cob.

  2. Fill cans with the cut corn, pressing it in very hard using the small end of a potato masher.

  3. Screw the cover on tightly using your thumb and first finger.

Boil and cool

  1. Place a cloth in the bottom of a wash boiler to prevent breakage and layer the cans inside.

  2. Cover the cans with cold water and place the boiler on the fire.

  3. Boil for three hours without ceasing.

  4. After boiling, remove the boiler from the fire and let the water cool.

  5. Take the cans from the boiler, tighten the lids, and let them cool completely.

Store

  1. Wrap each can in brown paper to exclude light and store in a cool, dry cellar.

  2. Ensure rubber rings are not hardened; replace them every two years.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Corn
Is the food being preserved; its kernels are packed into the cans and cooked through during boiling.
Cold water
Surrounds the cans in the boiler so heat is transferred evenly during the long boil.

The step that matters

Boil for three hours without ceasing. Heat must reach the centre of the corn and kill spoilage microbes; if the boil stops or the water drops below the cans, the contents may not be sterilised and can spoil.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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