Did you know you can make stock out of empty corn cobs? I’ve run across recipes in the past that called for boiling the empty cobs of corn to add flavor to a soup, so it made sense to me to boil a full pot of empty cobs and then use the broth that was created from them in a number of different ways.
What I didn’t expect was the richness of the corn stock. The natural sugars from the corn lend a sweetness to the broth. The aroma is fantastic and so much deeper than I anticipated.
I set the finished pot of stock in the refrigerator to cool overnight and the fragrance that greeted me when I opened the door the following morning was almost unbelievable. My entire kitchen smelled like fresh corn while I was transferring it into jars.
This goes beyond “better than store bought.” If it were possibly to buy something this amazing from the store, I’d be all over it. However, since this isn’t something that can be bought, I’ll be making corn stock every chance I get.
Kitchen Tip: How To Make Corn Stock
Ingredients
- 18 ears of corn kernels removed
- water to fill the pot and completely cover the corn
Instructions
- Place the corn cobs in a big stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer for at least at hour. (You can allow this to simmer longer, although I didn't notice a huge difference in the results when I let it simmer for 3-4 hours.) Remove the corn cobs and use the stock immediately or let it cool and store in the refrigerator for a couple weeks. The stock can also be frozen for later use.
evelyn1954 says
Mary do you think this stock could be pressure canned?
Mary says
Yes, absolutely. If I have a pressure canner, I would do that myself!
serai1 says
Can this be done with frozen cobs? I do make a lot of corn in the summer, but being single, it's usually only 1 or 2 cobs at a time.
Mary says
Yes! You can save the cobs in a big ziploc bag in the freezer until you are ready to make stock.
Rebeccah says
How exactly do you use it? Just sub chicken or other veggie stock?
Mary says
Exactly. Any recipe that already has corn in it will likely work well with corn stock subbed for chicken or vegetable broth. It adds a fresh flavor that can't be beat. This is one of my favorites: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/2013/09/creamy-mexican-chicken-and-corn-soup-recipe.html
Sandy says
Is this able to be canned? If so, which method and how long?
Mary says
I imagine it can be pressure canned, but I haven’t tried that myself. I store mine in the freezer.
Ronnie says
I found this answer on another site: “you can pressure can it (leaving 1-inch of headspace) in quart jars at 15 pounds of pressure for 75 minutes. The jars can be stored on the shelf for up to two years.”