How To Dry Corn & Grinding Cornmeal

By Carol Suhr
Published on September 1, 1975
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PHOTO: FOTOLIA/TOA555
Last year, for the first time, I discovered the joy of drying and grinding my own corn for winter use. This simple, non-energy-consuming method of preservation was long practiced by the Indians.

Last year, for the first time, I discovered the joy of drying and grinding my own corn for winter use. This simple, non-energy-consuming method of preservation was long practiced by the Native Americans and in many cases was the key to their survival during periods of crop failure. Certainly the practice deserves a revival . . . and what better place to start than in our own organic gardens? Even the smallest corn patch is likely to have enough over-mature ears left on the stalks at the end of the season to warrant a little experimentation.

How To Dry Corn

The fact is, though, that my own discovery of dried corn came about through sheer laziness. By late summer of last year-when the last buttery mouthful of kernels had been chomped off the last tender cob, and I was rapidly growing weary of freezing corn every day — I was dismayed to see that many maturing and overripe ears remained on our garden’s cornstalks. What’s more, they positively challenged me to do something with them.

Well, I did: I just let them hang there to grow bigger and fatter and tougher. Then, before the first heavy frost, I made a last trip up and down the rows and snapped off enough ears to fill my wheelbarrow. Some were left to feed the birds and other hungry creatures once the snows fell . . . and come spring, any scant remains would be tilled back into the soil to complete the cycle, with nary a grain gone to waste.

The next step was to pull back the husks from my harvest and spread the ears on clean newspaper in the garage where they could continue drying out of the weather for a few more weeks. I then brought the corn into a dry room in the house, and forgot about it until winter was well established and life had settled down to a gentler pace.

Shelling Corn

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