Blanching involves briefly scalding produce in boiling water and then immediately plunging it into an ice bath to halt the cooking process. It stops the enzymatic process that causes vegetables to lose their flavor, texture, and nutrients. Boiling also helps to remove any residual dirt and bacteria. 

Blanching time varies depending on the vegetable. Avoid overblanching or underblanching. You can find exact boiling times for most vegetables on university extension webpages, such as the U of MN: Preserving food at home: Blanching vegetables | UMN Extension

Tools needed:

• Tall strainer. Tongs also work as long as you can rapidly transfer the kohlrabi from the boiling water to the ice bath
• Large Pot
• Knife and cutting board
• Large bowl or container for ice bath
• Ice (around 2-3 ice trays)
• Ziploc bags

Prep the Kohlrabi and Tools

First, chop off the leaves from the stem, and then wash them in a bin of water. Remove yellow or damaged leaves. The leaves and bulbous stem will be blanched and stored separately because they cook for different lengths of time. Trim and discard the stems from the leaves, chop the leaves, and place them into a bowl. For the bulbous stem, chop off the top and bottom and peel or cut off the tough outer skin. Cut into cubes and place in a bowl.

Note: Depending on how much Kohlrabi you have, you’ll likely need to go through the blanching process for a few batches. The leaves cannot be packed together; they need enough space to boil evenly. 

Prepare a large bowl with ice water. Have extra ice ready to add for each new batch.

The Blanching Process for Leaves

1. Fill a large pot about ¾ of the way full with water and bring to a boil.
2. Using a strainer, dip kohlrabi leaves into the boiling water. Use a wooden spoon to press down any floating leaves and stir. Set a timer for 2 minutes
3. Once the two minutes are up, immediately transfer and submerge into an ice bath. Stir the leaves in the ice bath. Remove from the ice bath after 2 minutes, squeeze out water, and place on a kitchen towel. Pat dry and package into Ziploc bags. 
4. Add more ice to the ice bath as needed and repeat the blanching process until all the leaves are done. 

The Blanching Process for the Bulbous Stem

5. Fill a large pot about ¾ of the way full with water and bring to a boil (Or use the same one that you used for the leaves).
6. Using a tall strainer, submerge kohlrabi leaves into the boiling water. Set a timer for 1 minute.
7. Once the minute is up, immediately transfer and submerge into an ice bath. Stir the leaves in the ice bath. Remove from the ice bath after a minute. Pat dry with a kitchen towel. Package in a Ziploc bag and freeze. 
8. If necessary. Repeat the process and add more ice to the ice bath. 

The community is invited to celebrate National Farmers’ Market Week with us at the Downtown St. Paul Farmers’ Market on Saturday, August 8th, from 9 AM to 12 PM. 

Saint Paul, MN —08/05/2026 — Saint Paul Farmers’ Market is proud to announce its selection as one of the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association’s (MFMA) 2026 National Farmers’ Market Week Spotlight Markets, recognizing its commitment to supporting local farmers, strengthening the local food system, and creating a vibrant gathering place for the community.

National Farmers’ Market Week, celebrated August 2–8, 2026, is an annual nationwide celebration established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to recognize the important role farmers’ markets play in supporting local agriculture, expanding food access, fostering entrepreneurship, and building stronger communities.

As one of nine Spotlight Markets selected from across Minnesota, Saint Paul Farmers’ Market will join communities statewide in celebrating this year’s campaign theme:

Growing Strong Together

Growing Farmers. Growing Markets. Growing Communities.

During the farmers’ market, visitors are invited to experience everything that makes Saint Paul Farmers’ Market unique—from meeting local farmers and discovering fresh, locally grown foods to supporting small businesses, connecting with neighbors, and celebrating the people who make our local food system thrive.

“We are honored to be selected as a spotlight market for National Farmers’ Market Week. After 172 years in the Saint Paul community, we are excited to keep innovating fresh ideas to feed our community and support a resilient local food system,” said Executive Director Jim Golden

During National Farmers’ Market Week, Saint Paul Farmers’ Market will host the following celebrations and activities on Saturday, August 8th, 9 AM – 12 PM. There is free parking at 420 Prince St. E.

• Farmers’ Market Spring Rolls: samples & cooking demo by Chef Sina
• Craft Zone: Veggie Stamp Art + T-Shirt Painting
• Choo Choo Bob’s Train Activities
• Farmers’ Market Tent: Merch, Giveaways, and More!
• Live Music by Lost Golden Toads

The community is encouraged to join in the celebration by visiting the market, shopping local, meeting farmers, trying seasonal Minnesota-grown foods, and sharing their experience on social media using #NationalFarmersMarketWeek and #StPaulFarmersMarket

While this recognition highlights nine Spotlight Markets across Minnesota, the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association emphasizes that every farmers’ market plays an essential role in strengthening Minnesota’s local food system. From small rural markets to neighborhood and urban markets, each creates opportunities for farmers and food entrepreneurs to thrive while providing communities with access to fresh, local foods and meaningful connections.

“National Farmers’ Market Week is about more than celebrating one market—it’s about celebrating the entire network of farmers, market managers, volunteers, vendors, and community members who make local food possible,” said Kathy Zeman, Executive Director of the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association. “Our Spotlight Markets help tell the story of Minnesota’s incredible farmers’ markets, but every market across our state contributes to growing stronger communities.”

Saint Paul Farmers’ Market has been a staple of Saint Paul since the city’s early days. It served as the city’s first public market when the year-round market house opened in Downtown Saint Paul in 1854. Today, beneath permanent awnings, crowds gather every weekend at the Saint Paul Farmers’ Market to buy fresh veggies, fruit, dairy products, baked goods, preserved food, and more, all grown or produced close to home within 100 miles of the market. 

Last year, the Saint Paul Farmers’ Market expanded its operations with a new Indoor Market and Country Store to serve as a home base for the local food system, as an incubator for emerging food producers, and a community gathering space. A large commercial kitchen provides space for bakers, canners, and other food producers. The country store stocks exclusively local farmers’ market products, including fresh produce, dairy, ready-to-eat, frozen, dried, and canned items, as well as other items made by local food producers. The space features a tortilleria and coffee shop serving ready-to-eat food in a casual dining hall. The Indoor Market expands access to local food 6 days a week, Tuesday-Sunday, from 7 am-3 pm. 

National Farmers’ Market Week is celebrated annually during the first full week of August and recognizes the vital role farmers’ markets play in strengthening local economies, supporting family farms, improving access to healthy foods, and creating vibrant community gathering places across the country.

“What more can a reasonable man desire, in peaceful times, in ordinary noon, than a sufficient number of ears of green sweet corn boiled, with the addition of salt?” – Henry David Thoreau

Sweet, buttery, salted grilled corn is the outdoor cooking staple. Perhaps your richest memory of sweet corn is stopping at a roadside farm stand on your way to camping, then later grilling the fresh cobs over a fire. From backyard parties with a buffet in the garage to grilling at a cookout overlooking a deep blue lake, biting into the buttery, juicy grain tastes like late summer and all the activity and fun that comes along with it. And how could you visit the Minnesota State Fair without crunching into a corn-on-the- cob?

Corn is grown and eaten on every continent except Antarctica. We can thank Indigenous people for domesticating corn’s ancestor, teosinte, about 10,000 years ago in what’s now Mexico. It was widely traded throughout the Americas, also called Turtle Island. Indigenous people developed hundreds of varieties, including sweet corn. “Three Sisters” farming entails planting corn, climbing beans, and squash together. The corn serves as a natural trellis for the beans, the beans fix atmospheric nitrogen, making it available in the soil for the corn and squash to use, and the squash’s wide leaves stifle weeds, preserve soil moisture, and deter pests. This low-maintenance Indigenous farming practice fed communities for millennia. Native corn seeds have been passed down for countless generations and hold deep cultural heritage. Locally, Dream of Wild Health preserves seeds of numerous native corn varieties.

About 99% of corn grown in Minnesota is field corn, used for livestock feed, ethanol, industrial or consumer products, or other food additives, such as high-fructose corn syrup. Field corn is left on the stalks to dry until harvest in late fall. Sweet corn, on the other hand, is grown for our consumption. Sweet corn was developed by Indigenous farmers long before European colonization. Sweet Corn typically peaks in Minnesota in late July through mid-September. It is sweet because of a natural genetic mutation that slows the conversion of sugars to starch. Modern sweet corn can have as much as 40% sugar content. Responsible for roughly a quarter of all sweet corn grown nationally, Minnesota ranks as the number one producer! Sweet corn is best when eaten shortly after harvest before the sugary content is lost. Buying at the Farmers’ Market is one of the best ways to get the freshest sweet corn!

Sweet Corn – Minnesota Grown. Minnesota Grown’s resource on sweet corn, featuring a sweet corn finder, tips for buying, cooking, and preserving it. 

Home – Dream of Wild Health. Check out this local organization recovering Native food! They have a corn festival coming up this fall! (20+) Corn Fest | Facebook