How long to water bath can corn

[Kelly Ann]

I forgot how long I waterbath corn. I know it is to be pressure cooked but my grandmother always did it this way and I am ok with it. I believe it was 90 min but unsure. Thank you for any feedback in the time to be cooked.

 

[BarredBuff]

There are no processing times for water bathing corn as it is a low acid vegetable. While water bathing will destroy all of the "normal" spoilage problems such as mold, flat sour, etc. It will not kill the tasteless, and odorless toxin botulism. Which is very hard to contain once ingested, and has the potential to kill whomever ingests it so be weary of using a boiling water bath canner to preserve fresh corn. Botulism will only grow in low acid foods and cannot be destroyed at boiling temperature (212 degrees fahrenheit), but under pressurized steam can be killed at temperatures higher than 240 (f). This temperature can only be obtained using a steam pressure canner.

 

[Hinotori]

A few cans of corn aren't worth your life. I'd freeze the corn if you don't have a pressure canner.

 

[k15n1]

Yeah, even if you're "OK with it", it's not a good idea. Anyway, my family likes frozen corn better than the canned variety.

 

[Denim Deb]

Same here.

 

[ORChick]

Yes, I would definitely freeze the corn, if not pressure canning. For all the reasons above, but also what would 90 minutes in a boiling water bath do to the texture? It worked for your grandmother, and that is really nice to hear; but how many grandmothers did it not work for?

 

[Kelly Ann]

Thank you for all of your responses and concerns. I did freeze the corn then and feel good about that!!

 

[BarredBuff]

Glad you froze it

 

[Beekissed]

I forgot how long I waterbath corn. I know it is to be pressure cooked but my grandmother always did it this way and I am ok with it. I believe it was 90 min but unsure. Thank you for any feedback in the time to be cooked.

My mother cans her corn this way also and the trick is to place a slice of green tomato at the top of each jar. This not only adds acid to the jar but keeps the corn from turning brown. The water bath minutes were indeed 90 min. Your grandmother probably found out what my mother found out...pressure cooked corn turns brown and is tasteless.

One to two hundred quarts of water bathed corn a year for quite a few years...many people fed. Not one bad jar. Get a grip, people!

 

[k15n1]

Even adding straight 5% vinegar isn't a guarantee of adequate acidity. Turns out that there's all kinds of buffering potential and it differs from one variety to another. Besides, the temperature cycle and whatever chemistry goes on during long-term storage may effect the pH. There's enough factors that I don't think it's possible to estimate the pH vs. time profile. In cases like this, measurements are the only way to be sure.

I've pressure canned corn and it certainly isn't as sweet as the frozen variety. On the one hand, it's an argument for freezing everything. I'm not comfortable with putting all of my eggs in one fuel-sucking option. I have a freezer and a generator but it's just not the final answer to food security. On the other hand, sometimes you have to learn to like what you have. So I'm learning to eat fermented cabbage, how to eat radishes, and how to store root vegetables in a root cellar.

There are many life/death risks in life. For example, driving a car, flying on an airplane, living with other people, etc. We all do our best to mitigate these risks, right? Well, following tested canning recipes is a way to mitigate the risk of bad canned food. So it's not that we need to "get a grip". The advocates of tested recipes have rational reasons for their position. Others are willing to roll the dice. And that's OK. There's no reason to be dismissive or insulting just because you're willing to take additional risk. Do as you do but don't make the mistake of thinking that your way is the only way.