# canning frozen corn



## Nina (May 10, 2002)

Has anyone canned frozen corn? We just put 16 pints of it into the canner with only a tsp. of salt that was boiling to pack it. Since there's more than half of the packing water left, there's probably only a few grains of salt to each pint. Has anyone had success with this kind of thing? (Or was this just a stupid experiment and we're going to get poisoned?)


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

I'm sorry but I can't understand. The tsp. of salt per quart goes into each the jar not the batch as a whole and the "salt isn't boiling"? If you used the correct amount of water added to the measured amount of corn and there is still half of the water left after packing the jars then you over packed the jars with too much corn and not enough water.

IF that is the case, then yes, the jars are packed too densely and the pressure canning processing time called for will not be sufficient for it to be safe. The corn should be able to move freely in the liquid in the jars. Each kernel needs to be exposed to liquid.

I would stop the processing and repack the jars with more hot liquid and then process them.

But I really need more details on exactly what you did to accurately answer your question. And also, canning corn that was already frozen will result in a much softer product, more of a cream style corn with a different color than you might expect.


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## Nina (May 10, 2002)

I'd put a large pot of water on to boil and wanted to shorten the time it took to boil by adding a little salt. At the UGA site, they'd said to add salt "if desired" and we decided for no-salt. The water left in the pot was just what wasn't needed to fill the jars (excess). The corn was still pretty much frozen, so when the boiling water was added, the jars were just cool when put into the canner.
My apologies for the lack of clarity. The corn wasn't pushed down or shaken (well, maybe a couple were a tad shaken), but the jars were rather chilly and so I'm wondering if that would be a problem or even if canning something previously frozen is stupid... but you seem to have answered the latter question (thanks, Judylou!).


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

Ahh I see. A couple of problems then.

1) Since you didn't thaw and heat the corn prior to putting it in the jar you used raw pack rather than hot pack but it was a raw pack with frozen corn rather than defrosted corn. You should always defrost frozen foods prior to canning them and using hot pack with them insures they are thawed and the liquid in the jar is the proper temperature.

2) and since the jars were cool when put in the canner rather than hot as they are supposed to be your canned corn is under-processed and unsafe for shelf storage.

That is unless you added significant amount of processing time to the amount required. A fair portion of the processing time was wasted on just thawing the corn and bringing the liquid in the jars back up to temperature. So only a part of the processing time was spent killing bacteria - it's purpose.

Your corn would not be considered safe for shelf storage. You can fully reprocess it within 24 hours which will make it even more mushy or you can refrigerate it and use ASAP. Or I suppose you can freeze it again although I wouldn't recommend that.

This is not to say that you cannot can frozen corn, you can although it isn't commonly recommended because of the effect on the results. But you must thaw it before canning  and using the hot pack method is preferred and the jars must be hot before going into the canner.

Sorry. I know this isn't what you hoped to hear.


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## Lucy (May 15, 2006)

I totally agree with Judylou. Even if you had done a raw pack, the liquid still must be boiling as it goes in the jars. Never try to process cold jars of food. 
You can reprocess the jars of corn but they are going to be poor quality. 
Sixteen pints is too much to just eat I would suppose unless you have a huge family.
I was going to say make a corn chowder or something.


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## Nina (May 10, 2002)

Thanks, Judylou, it's news that's appreciated! DH feels that the temp. of the jars was quite hot by the time venting was done (he said that it took longer to get to full steam for the beginning of vent timing), but I am feeling that the wiser route would be to re-process in the morning. I'm glad/relieved that there is that option.


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## Nina (May 10, 2002)

Glad, too, to get a similar opinion for this, thank you, Lucy. Boiling water was poured into each jar, and although the corn probably wasn't rock-hard frozen (the bags had been sitting out a while), I don't think any of them were close to "warm" when they went into the canner. Live and learn. I told DH that botulism was a nasty way to die!


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

> DH feels that the temp. of the jars was quite hot by the time venting was done


No, sorry but the time coming up to venting is part of the processing time just as the cool down time is part of the processing. Safe canning requires that all jars go into the canner HOT. Doing otherwise wastes processing time.

Many don't understand that just because a processing time calls for say 30 mins. the ACTUAL processing required time is more like 1 hour. When the published processing times are computed the time to come up to pressure, the 10 mins of venting required, the time to cool down to zero, and the 10 mins. you wait before removing the lid are all factored into the computation. Eliminate any of those steps and you have underprocessed the food.

I know it hurts to toss it but think of it instead as a valuable lesson learned, ok?


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## Nina (May 10, 2002)

Toss? Um, I'm thinking "_*tons *_of black bean quesadillas". To refrigerate within the 24 hrs., (right now they've not quite cooled to room temp.) and use, say, within a month if they sealed... that'd be okay, right? 
So I've "tossed" them into the fridge. ...or do they not qualify for that, either? 

If you're interested, here (with modifications of more cheese and red, rather than green, bell pepper) is the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bean-Quesadillas/Detail.aspx My kids find that there are never enough of these.


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## Lucy (May 15, 2006)

Nina, no, they are still not safe as botulism grows in sealed jars. Refrigeration just slows down bacteria growth a bit, not keeps it from growing. In a sealed jar, with improperly canned foods, botulism can grow to a deadly rate within 2 or 3 days. 
I really agree with Judylou, that this was an unfortunate experience and I would toss the ones you cannot eat within a few days. Pop the lids, and open the jars, then put the lids back on to let air in the jars. Put back in the fridge and eat within 2 or 3 days. I would boil the contents first, too, for 10 min. before I tasted them. 
I would take no chances with your health and safety. 
I would tell you to freeze the jars of food, but they have already been frozen. 
I am sorry, but many people do learn by making mistakes. Please, don't be too discouraged and use this as a learning experience. Don't give up ! Now you know more of why things need to be hot packed or at least raw packed with boiling liquid if that is an option. You will see with each recipe/method, that it will say hot pack or raw pack. It is says hot pack and raw pack is not listed, then ONLY hot pack will be safe for that food. The liquid added to the jars will still be boiling,though in a raw packed food.
Hope this helps clarify things for you. Again, sorry about the corn.


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## Nina (May 10, 2002)

Well, we were kind of flying seat-of-the-pants on this one and so I was aware that the risk of doing something incorrect was there. I'm really glad we're not poisoning ourselves over this. Thanks for the help, it's _much _appreciated!


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## Lucy (May 15, 2006)

Nina, may I suggest that you please ask the questions before you do something you are unsure of next time ? It may save your food from being tossed. Did you know frozen corn is easy to toss on a dehydrator and works great later in soups. It dries down to hardly nothing, so easy to store.


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## Nina (May 10, 2002)

We do have a dehydrator that's pretty much doing nothing more than gathering dust. So that's a great idea that will work well here (thanks!). 

There's a pattern to the last few cannings in that all were rather unexpected and very rushed. Thinking straight when rushed isn't something I do well.


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

> Thinking straight when rushed isn't something I do well.


Agree. And canning when rushed isn't wise and honestly, not necessary. Like guessing and experimenting, rushing can quickly get you into risky foods and potential trouble. 

Things can always wait in the fridge or freezer until you have the time to first decide exactly what you plan to can, then research the proper steps, then properly prepare all your jars of food, and only then do the canning.


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