I love sweetcorn season! Nothing says summer like golden ears of corn dripping with butter, salt and pepper, served so piping hot you burn your fingers trying to pick them up.
Sweetcorn aficionados always have their favorite local stand they buy corn from. (Growing up, ours was Bishops, and these days, it’s Way Fruit Farm.) And we can’t wait for that first dozen to hit the table each year.
At a barbecue, I could eat sweetcorn and nothing else; just keep those buttery ears coming my way. I love ‘em!
What I don’t love is the need for floss afterward or the pile of shaggy corn cobs left after the meal.
It always seems like such a waste. You put all that work into shucking the ears and getting all the silk off, and in the end, we eat so little of the actual plant—only the kernels.
(And speaking of shucking the corn, here are a few good ways to put those corn husks to good use.)
Why not put those leftover cobs to good use and make corn broth?
Some of you are on board already, I can tell. Others probably made the face and sound my sweety made when I floated the idea his way, “Urgh. Corn broth.”
I’ll admit that the idea of straight-up corn broth isn’t all that appealing. (At least, not to me.) But you have to think of all the things you can use it in. That’s when the brilliance of it unfolds.
Sure, a pot of chicken noodle soup made entirely with corn broth sounds kind of gross, but that’s because corn broth isn’t meant to be the main flavor focus. Think of it as the supporting role in any dish; it’s there to boost the main flavors.
But before you can make corn broth from leftover corn cobs, you need to make something with sweetcorn. Ah, my friend, I’ve got you covered.
What Can I Use Corn Broth For?
A good corn broth will have the sweet corn flavor we love, so think of dishes that you want to liven up with that taste, or that need a little natural sweetener. Plus, if you reduce it down a bit, the starches from the corn will thicken the resulting broth a little, too.
In the end, you get a sweet but not overpowering vegetable broth that can add a silky mouthfeel to the dishes you make with it.
Soups
The most obvious place to start is with soups. Rather than using all the same broth or stock, add in a cup of corn broth, especially if it’s a soup that has corn in it. (I’m looking at you, chicken corn chowder.) And speaking of chowders, these creamy soups were made for corn broth.
Gravy & Sauces
Along with extra flavor, the starch can help make gravies and sauces extra silky. No lumps here. The flavor really shines in sawmill or white gravies.
Rice
Cook your rice in corn broth for rice that’s a little on the sweeter side. Swap out one cup of water for one cup of corn broth.
Stir-fries
Add a splash of corn broth to sweeten up a stir-fry dish, and add a little steam to cook those veggies.
Salad Dressing
If you make your own salad dressing, well, first, you’re smart because homemade salad dressing is so much healthier and better tasting than storebought dressings. Second, add a dash or two of corn broth to your salad dressing as a natural sweetener and to give them a little extra flavor.
Salads
Not just for dressings, add a splash of corn broth to your potato or macaroni salads to kick the flavor up a notch.
Popsicles
What? Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
Marinades
Use corn broth as a base for a marinade. Don’t forget to baste more on while you cook.
Once you have a batch of corn broth on hand, you’ll soon find more uses for it when cooking. Get creative and try a few new things. I’m racking my brain trying to figure out how to make a movie theater buttered popcorn cocktail using an ounce or two of corn broth.
How to Make Corn Broth
You can make straight corn broth just by boiling leftover corn cobs, but you’ll end up with a pretty bland, one-note broth in the end. (That’s okay if all you want is the corn flavor.) For a slightly more flavorful broth, you’ll want to add some onion and a few herbs and spices.
A quick note: Save the water you cooked the sweetcorn in and use it to make the broth. It already has plenty of flavor.
Ingredients:
- 6 corn cobs, cut or snapped into halves
- 6 cups of water
- 1 small onion quartered
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 6 peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
Directions:
- Place all ingredients in a stock pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Leave at a rolling boil for five minutes, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Let the broth simmer gently for an hour or two.
- After two hours, remove the lid and salt to taste before straining it. Or, if you wish, you can let the broth cook down further for a sweeter, silkier finished broth.
- When you’re finished, strain the broth over a fine-mesh strainer and enjoy!
Are You Canning Sweetcorn?
Great! Use some of those cobs to make up a batch of corn broth and can it as you would vegetable broth. (You’ll need to pressure can it.)
Storing Corn Broth
Ladle your finished corn broth into a clean mason jar and store it in the fridge for up to two weeks. Likewise, you can leave an inch or two of headspace and freeze the broth.
However, the best way to store corn broth is to freeze it in ice cube trays and then place the broth cubes in a plastic zipper bag in the freezer. You can pop them out as needed to add a bright, sweet splash to whatever you’re cooking.
Now that you’ve wrested every last bit of flavor from those corn cobs, you can chuck them in the compost pile or feed them to the chickens. Of course, now that you’ve made corn broth, maybe you’ll get lucky and get to try huitlacoche next.
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