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.

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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.