Make A Golden Stock Out Of Corn Cobs

Photo: Claire Lower

My love for corn has been well documented. I will eat it steamed. I will eat it creamed. I will strip the cobs of their golden, juicy kernels and eat them raw.

And, once I am left with nothing but naked cobs, I will use those corn sticks to make a corny broth.

How To Make Seafood Stock Out Of Scraps

While most vegetable scraps get chucked into my general purpose stock bag, corn cobs get singled out.

Rather than muddle their flavour with a bunch of other produce, I make them the star, complementing them with garlic and letting their corny goodness shine. The result is a savoury, incidentally vegan broth that adds a spike of savoury seasonal flavour to soups, risottos and sauces.

Corn stock can be made either on the stove or in a pressure cooker. To make it, you will need:

Corn cobs (at least 4)
Enough water to cover the cobs
3 smashed garlic cloves, skins still on
2 teaspoons of salt
1 bay leaf

Add everything to a big stock pot (or pressure cooker) with enough water to just cover the cobs.

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and let it bubble and extract corny goodness for several hours, at least two, until you have a fragrant stock with a beautiful golden hue. If you’re using a pressure cooker, cook under high pressure for 45 minutes.

Strain stock through a sieve to remove the cobs and any errant corn silk, then stir into anything that needs more corn.

I think it makes a particularly good ramen broth, but I’m not above sipping it from a little mug.