Pressure Canning Corn at Home: Raw Pack or Hot Pack Method

Canning corn is the perfect way to preserve the fresh, sweet taste of summer and enjoy it all year long. Whether you’re using the raw pack or hot pack method, pressure canning ensures your corn stays delicious and shelf-stable for many months.

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about canning corn at home, from selecting the best ears to sealing your jars for long-term storage. Get ready to stock your pantry with golden, home-canned goodness!

You can check out why I think food storage is so important here.

THIS RECIPE MUST BE PROCESSED IN A PRESSURE CANNER

Not a pressure cooker, a pressure canner. Two different pieces of equipment.

Need more pressure canning recipes? Grab your copy of The Basics of Pressure Canning. And get started on your journey to food self sufficiency today.

YIELD: You can get approximately 2 pints or 1 quart of canned sweet corn out of 3 to 6 pounds of fresh corn on the cob.

And 8 pints or 4 quarts from 12 to 24 pounds of fresh corn.

Higher quality, fully mature corn needs fewer ears.

How to Can Sweet Corn

Equipment

• Pressure canner
• Canning jars with no nicks or cracks
• New lids with rings/screw bands, either single use or Tattler reusable lids
• Lid lifter
• Bubble popper or thin knife
• Jar lifter
• Old towels

Check out my Ultimate Guide to Home Canning Essentials for links to all the stuff.

Ingredients

• Fresh corn on the cob, of course
• Sea salt ~ this is optional, if you choose to use salt don’t use regular table salt. Use sea salt or canning salt instead.
• Boiling water

Corn can be canned in 1/2 pint, pint, 1 1/2 pint, or quart jars. It all depends on how many people you are feeding at a time. Half pints are great for 2 to 3 people, and pints will stretch for 6.

Instructions

Prepping the Jars and Lids

The first thing you need to do is is get your jars prepped. Wash them in hot soapy water and keep them warm.

You can also run them through a quick rinse in the dishwasher and use the heated dry cycle like I do.

That keeps my jars hot for 45-60 minutes. Which is usually plenty of time for whatever I’m canning.

Next step is to get your lids and rings ready. For the single use lids this means I put both the flat lids and the rings into a pot and cover them with water.

Bring the water to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer. That softens the sealing compound on the lids so they can form a good seal.

For the Tattler reusable lids, follow the directions that came with them.

Prepping the Sweet Corn

Shuck the corn leaving about an inch of the stalk. Clean off all the silks. You can pick the silks by hand, or use a silk brush like this one.

Once the silks are removed, rinse the ears in cold water.

Now you need to cut the kernels from the cob. There are several types of cutters available, but I just use a shar knife and a Bundt pan.

Place the end of the stalk into the hole in the top of the Bundt pan. Hold the tip of the ear with one hand, and carefully slide the knife down the side of the cob to cut the kernels off.

You want to make your cut about 3/4 of the way into the kernels. The kernels will fall (mostly) into the Bundt pan and you won’t spend your time chasing them around the cabinet top.

Methods for Canning Corn

There are 2 methods that you can use for canning corn. Cold pack (or raw pack) and hot pack. I walk you through both methods below.

The only difference is blanching (or heating) the corn before you put them in the jars.

During processing, most things shrink up a little as they cook and release water. Blanching allows them to shrink before you pack the jars, so you can get a little bit more of whatever you’re canning into each jar.

There are some things that I always use the hot pack for, and some that don’t make that much difference. It all depends on how much water is actually in something.

For sweet corn, I personally use the cold pack method because it’s just a little faster. But they will both work perfectly.

Cold Pack/Raw Pack Method for Canning Corn

When the corn is being prepped, bring a large kettle or pot of water to a boil.

While that is heating, get your hot jars.

Using a canning funnel, fill each hot jar with corn kernels leaving 1 inch headspace. Pack lightly.

Go ahead and add your sea salt to the jars now. If you are using 1/2 pint jars add 1/4 teaspoon. Add 1/2 teaspoon to pints, 3/4 teaspoon to 1 1/2 pints, and 1 teaspoon to quarts.

After you’ve added the salt you need to fill the jars with that water that’s been boiling. Make sure you leave that same 1 inch of headspace.

Now use a thin knife to run around the inside of the jar to remove any air bubbles. Then top off the jars with water if you need to.

Then wipe off the rim of the jar and attach the lid.

Go through that same process with all of the jars and put them into the canner.

Hot Process Method for Canning Sweet Corn

Follow the previous directions for prepping jars, lids, and corn.

After cutting the corn kernels from the cob, measure the corn into a large Dutch oven. For every 4 cups of corn, add 2 cups of water.

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Let boil for 3 minutes. Strain corn, reserving the liquid.

Next, pack your jars with the corn kernels. Make sure you leave a 1 inch headspace.

Add the salt to each of your jars. Add 1/4 teaspoon to half pints, 1/2 teaspoon to pints, 3/4 teaspoon to 1 1/2 pints, and 1 teaspoon to quarts.

Grab a ladle and cover the corn with the reserved boiling water. Don’t forget the 1-inch headspace. Now remove the air bubbles, and top off the jars with water if you need to. Wipe the rims of the jars, and attach the lids.

From here, continue with the directions below.

Pressure Canning Sweet Corn

Add the proper amount of hot water to your canner. It’s usually 2 to 3 inches, but check the directions that came with your particular canner. 

Put the jars in the canner. If you have a tall enough canner and an extra rack, you can double stack the jars. I always try to stagger the layer on top so they aren’t directly over the ones on the bottom.

Then close and seal the lid.

Turn the heat to high and allow the steam to vent for the specified amount of time. Again, that time is going to depend on the canner and the pressure you need to achieve.

Once the steam has vented, add the weight. If you are using a dial gauge canner, just watch the dial. Once it’s almost up to pressure turn the burner down slightly.

If you are using a weighted gauge canner, you will know it’s up to pressure when the weight begins to jiggle consistently. Adjust your burner to keep it rocking slightly.

Bring the canner up to pressure, and start your timer.

Process Time at 10 pounds of pressure: Pints and 1/2 pints need to process for 55 minutes, 1 1/2 pints and quarts need 85 minutes.

Don’t forget to adjust the pressure for your altitude. Use this altitude adjustment chart.

After processing for the required length of time, remove the canner from the heat so it can cool down. Follow the directions that came with your canner.

Never run cold water over your pressure canner! The sudden drop in pressure will cause the jars to explode!

Sorry to shout, but I’ve seen crazy things on the internet lately…remember, pressure canner, not pressure cooker!

Once the pressure has dropped to zero, carefully open the canner with the lid facing away from you. Otherwise you’ll get a face full of steam. And that’s no fun!

Use the jar lifter to carefully remove the jars straight up out of the canner. Don’t tilt the jars because they may not be sealed yet and you don’t want anything to leak out.

You need to put the jars on a double layer of towels somewhere that isn’t directly in a cold draft. If it’s drafty, throw another towel over the top to protect the jars.

Make sure the jars are somewhere that isn’t going to be in your way. Cuz now they need to sit undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. If you do your canning in the evening, you can let them sit over night so that’s not really a problem.

Checking the Seals

After at least 12 hours you can check the seals. If any of the jars didn’t seal you can reprocess them with new lids. Check the rim of the jar to make sure there aren’t any nicks that made the seal fail.

If you don’t want to reprocess, no worries. Just stick it in the fridge and eat the contents within a week or so.

Storing Your Canned Sweet Corn

The last step is to remove the rings and wash them and wipe down the jars. Make sure you label and date the jars and add a batch number if you do more than 1 canner load. You can use stick on labels, or you use a sharpie to write on the lid.

For the best results, store your canned corn in a cool dark place. They can be stored for up to 2 – 5 years, depending on conditions, before they begin to deteriorate.

Never use home canned food from storage that has a broken seal! When in doubt, throw it out!

Using Your Home Canned Sweet Corn

This corn makes a perfect side dish for just about anything. To use, simply pour a jar of corn with the liquid into a saucepan and heat.

You can use them to make corn chowder or corn salsa. Toss them into soups or stews, make scalloped corn, or even toss them into corn bread.

Lots of ways to use home canned sweet corn!

Blessings!

Always check with the National Center for Home Food Preservation for up to date canning guidelines.​Always check with the National Center for Home Food Preservation for up to date canning guidelines.

Frequently Asked Questions About Pressure Canning Corn

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