Gauteng Smallholder December 2015-January 2016 | Page 50

IN THE KITCHEN
From page 47

more than a dozen mealies.
All fruits and vegetables
contain enzymes that, over
time, break down the
nutrients and change the
colour, flavour, and texture of
food during frozen storage.
That is why one blanches
food, as this destroys the
enzymes before freezing.
Put the mealies in the boiling
water, put the lid on and bring
the water back to a roiling
boil. Blanching times vary
according to the size: seven
minutes for small cobs, nine
minutes for medium sized
and eleven minutes for large
mealies. Begin counting the
blanching time as soon as you
place the cobs in the boiling
water. Cover the pot and
boil at a high temperature
for the required length of
time. You may use the
same blanching water
several times (up to five).
Be sure to add more hot
water from the tap from
time to time to keep up
Kernels and cobs ready for the freezer
the water level.

a soft brush. It helps to keep a
bowl of water on the table
while working to dip your
hands into, as they become
sticky.
You can freeze the whole cob
or you can take the kernels
off the cob to freeze in bags,
which takes less space in the
freezer. Either way you will
need to blanch the cobs first.
Fill the largest pot you have to
¾ full with hot water, put it
on your largest burner or
straddle two stove plates and
bring it to a full roiling boil.
Next, fill a large bowl with ice
and cold water. You may
need to buy a bag or two of
ice if you are planning to do

After blanching, cool them
quickly to prevent overcooking, by putting them into the
large bowl of ice-cold water.
To take the kernels off the
cob, press along the rows with
the side of a knife. Don't cut
the kernels or you'll lose the
richly flavoured heart and
juice.
Don't overfill the bags. You
don't want them totally full,
just enough so you can close
them easily and then flatten
them out so they store easily.
If you are using freezer bags,
try hard to remove as much
air as possible from a bag by
sucking it out with a straw
before you seal it.
Put them into the freezer, on
the quick freeze shelf, if you
have one.
When you want to
eat the mealies you
can poach the cobs
in half-milk/half
water with a dash
of salt until just
tender or you can

48
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grill
them
while
they are
partially
frozen
on the
braai.
Cooling in ice water
If you
bagged
the
kernels partially thaw them for
about five minutes before
cooking them. They can be
simmered in a little butter
until tender.
You might also want to
consider bottling the mealies.
Parboil the cobs, cut off the
kernels, fill the jars, add water,
boil in jars in a large pot,
allow to cool and then seal.

Bottled kernels