Last Monday, WS went out to pick the rest of his corn. Some of it had already started drying, so I looked up in my Stocking Up III book, what the best thing to do would be. The book asserts that drying it on the cob, then twisting the cob to release the kernels, then storing in a jar is a good way to preserve corn even for human use. Apparently it can be reconstituted in basically the same manner that is used for dry beans (who knew?), so I thought I would give it a try.
First problem is that my dehydrator trays stack on top of each other, with only about 1/2-3/4 inches of room between them. Not really a problem, just an inconvenience as that meant I could only dry one tray at a time (fortunately the lid is domed, so it would fit over the corn).
I dried one tray full like that, twisted the cobs, retrieved the kernels, and got a couple of jars of corn:
hopefully they reconstitute well and taste good when the time comes. If not, I'll put it in the birdfeeder.
I have always been paranoid about leaving small appliances plugged in while they are doing their thing; the crockpot and dehydrator are always placed on the stovetop or on a marble cutting board just in case something goes wrong. If the heating mechanism freaks out, and the crockpot / dehydrator is sitting on the bare counter, I've thought that would be a recipe for a house fire.
Wednesday morning, I started a new batch of corn ears in the dehydrator. When I got home 13+ hours later, I thought I smelled burning corn but since WS was in the kitchen (right next to the dehydrator), I figured a kernel had fallen onto the heating element and burned (not a big deal). About an hour later, I unplugged the dehydrator, removed the lid and found this:
It had gotten so hot that the plastic tray had cracked and melted, dumping some of the ears on the heating element. Almost all the ears of corn still on the tray were burned too. I have been using this dehydrator for over 20 years and have never seen anything like this before.
Needless to say, I have discarded of the dehydrator and ordered another one.
I'm not sure if anything more would have happened if it had been on a countertop, but am thankful that I didn't have to find out the hard way!
Smart precautions that you take with your small appliances, Bogie!
We used to shuck corn when I was a kid - but -we never did it for human consumption. It was for pigs and milk cows. We only used canning as the means of preserving for human consumption. Hey! If you make hominy, I'll bet you can't tell the difference. (Can you, anyway?)
Posted by: Cop Car | September 13, 2010 at 12:27 PM
Fascinating, about being able to reconstitute corn the same way we soften beans. I have probably the first of the "Stocking Up' books, but I haven't canned or preserved anything in a few years. I'd really like to get back to doing a little, especially with tomatoes. We're going to try Dear Husband's mother's red sauce recipe this fall, and I'll have some to put up, I'm sure.
Posted by: buffy | September 15, 2010 at 09:24 PM
The book assures me that the results should be similar to cooked frozen corn, with good color and texture - we will see.
Hominy - hmmm, I'm thinking that would be a desperation move (never developed a taste for it, no offenxe to those who like it).
Posted by: bogie | September 17, 2010 at 08:08 AM
Do you remember ever eating hominy as a kid? Since your dad doesn't care for it, I may never have fixed it; but, I do like it! (There aren't very many foods that I actually dislike!)
Posted by: Cop Car | September 18, 2010 at 09:55 AM
I don't remember eating hominy when I was young. I know I have tried it as an adult and found that it didn't run to my tastes. I don't remember actually hating it, just it was very bland. If I'm going to eat bland, at least it can be colorful!
I certainly wouldn't turn my nose up at it if I were hungry (not starving, hungry), but it is not something I actively persue on my menu.
Posted by: bogie | September 19, 2010 at 05:14 PM