Corn Day: A Childhood Memory

I love sweet corn. Fresh right out of the garden, boiled and then eating off the cob, frozen and reheated during winter months, grilled, added to dishes....I loooove sweet corn. 

When I was a child, a family member would plant a plot of sweet corn a few rows into his regular field corn. This was in an effort to hide it from raccoon and deer in hopes of it surviving till harvest. And normally it would work! It also helped that he planted a crazy large amount, so that even if it was raided there would still be a lot left.



Once it was ready, we would have Corn Day. It was one of my favorite days of the year. Always near the beginning of August.

My Dad along with my Grandpa and other members of our extended family would get up early and harvest enough sweet corn to fill the bed of a pickup truck. Not a short bed mind you, but a traditional 8 foot bed full of sweet corn. They would then drive it into town to Grandma and Grandpa's house where they would start husking it. Mom and us kids would collect knives, pie tins, aprons, freezer containers and head into town as well. Grandma would have the kitchen clean out. Everything...toaster, utensil holder, decorations...everything moved to the dinning room table. Old woven rugs laid down around the counters to protect the floor. Once a good start was made on the husking, my uncle would start boiling the corn and we would start cutting off the corn kernels. The 'mom' from each house filling up their freezer containers and then helping who ever needed more. 

The stickiness, the deliciousness, the laughter, the stories, the memories....

And then their was lunch. Oh the lunch of memories. 

Grandma would make homemade lasagna the day before. And prepare a salad..... And several side dishes..... And dessert. When lunch time would finally come around, we would halt the process of freezing corn, put a big plate of cooked corn on the cob on the table, pull out the delicious lasagna from the oven, pull out all the side dishes from the refrigerator and eat till our stomachs hurt.

And then Grandma would pull out the dessert. Usually she would make a cake topped with ice cream...another make the day before dish. And always yummy!

After a quick table clean up, we would go back at it till all the freezer containers were filled. And everyone's vehicles had more than enough fresh ears of corn in them for the next several days. Friends would be called to come get the remaining corn so nothing would go to waste.

Then it was kitchen clean up....we'd wash the dishes, scrubbed all the sticky mess off the counters and floor, and replace all the kitchen items back to their original spot so that grandma would not have to clean up afterwards.

I have such fond memories of Corn Day. Everyone working together to fill all the families's freezers with frozen sweet corn. The stickiness left over e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. The laughter. The yummy food. And while it was a full day's worth of work, it made it so much easier for everyone. And only one kitchen had to be scrubbed top to bottom. 😃

These days it's just us freezing our corn in between children's naps and supper prep. But whenever I freeze corn I remember Corn Day. And think that maybe someday...we'll host corn day for our children and grandchildren. And I will make lasagna.... And a salad..... And several side dishes.... And a dessert.... probably cake with ice cream.

To learn how to freeze corn please visit this post: