KNIFE SKILLS: How to Prepare Corn When selecting corn, look for ears that are tightly shut, with bright green leaves that show no signs of wilting Squeeze the ears, particularly around their tips, to ensure that the kernels inside are full and juicy A good ear of corn should have very little give and feel heavy for its weight Avoid ears of corn that have been preshucked or come packaged in plastic wrap Any extra handling or packaging means that those ears are that much farther away from their original time of harvest The best way to store corn is not at all—don’t buy it until the day you plan on eating it If you must store it, keep it in its husks in the refrigerator’s crisper drawer, but don’t store it for more than a day, or you’ll have starchy, flavorless corn on your hands Instead, for longer-term storage, remove the kernels and then blanch them in boiling water for minute, followed by a plunge into an ice water bath to chill them Spread the blanched kernels out on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the freezer until fully frozen Put the frozen kernels in a zipper-lock freezer bag and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months To remove the kernels from an ear of corn, first peel off the husk and silk and discard Hold the cob in one hand and rest the end on the bottom of a large bowl Hold your knife against the top of the ear, then cut downward, slicing the kernels as close to the cob as possible They should fall neatly into the bowl Repeat with the remaining kernels, rotating the cob as you go Save the cobs if you want to extract their milk and make stock (see The Best Corn Chowder, here) ... to the cob as possible They should fall neatly into the bowl Repeat with the remaining kernels, rotating the cob as you go Save the cobs if you want to extract their milk and make stock (see The. ..off the husk and silk and discard Hold the cob in one hand and rest the end on the bottom of a large bowl Hold your knife against the top of the ear, then cut downward, slicing the kernels... Save the cobs if you want to extract their milk and make stock (see The Best Corn Chowder, here)