Invitingly straw-golden in colour, and fragrant with the sweet and earthy notes of fresh corn, Corn Broth extends the abundance of late summer corn and provides you with a precious elixir that can be used right away, chilled for use in a few days, or frozen for future eating delights.
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Corn-Broth_in-jars-close-up.jpg)
Otherwise destined for the compost unused, corn cobs provide one more offering for the cook with a few minutes to spare; once you have striped the cobs of their kernels, for a delicious use in Street Corn Salad for example, all that is required is to place the sheared cobs into an Instant Pot or heavy bottomed pot, add fresh herbs and seasonings, let it cook away unattended, then strain and store the broth. Modest recipes such as this Corn Broth take little effort but reward the maker with a certain self-sustaining satisfaction that comes from making something almost out of nothing, knowing that you have used an ingredient to its fullest, most tasty, potential.
Homemade Corn Broth has a light corn taste with the subtle backdrop of herbs and seasonings, depending on what flavours you choose to include. It will make a perfect base for recipes such as Corn Soup with Ginger and Dill, adding a depth of corn flavour that water or generic vegetable stock alone cannot provide. I love using the Instant Pot for this, as I can ‘set it and forget it’, but using a pot on the stovetop will give you the same results, just with a little bit of a longer cooking time.
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Corn-Broth_ingredients-in-instant-pot-2.jpg)
Making Corn Broth is not an exact science - apart from the corn cob to water ratio - you can vary what seasonings you include in your broth each time you make it, customizing it to fit your unique preferences or cooking needs. One thing I definitely do is to keep my use of salt in this broth very low, if I use salt in it at all. Unless I plan on drinking the broth as it is, I don’t want to accidentally over salt whatever soup I plan on making later on, and I would prefer to salt that soup when I am cooking it.
Soft herbs, such as basil, parsley, dill, and cilantro, can lend more subtle flavours in broths, whereas woodier herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, and oregano, can lend more vigorous flavours, so I suggest that you tend towards more soft herbs and less woodier herbs in your flavouring mix in terms of quantity; a sprig of rosemary amongst your seasonings makes sense here rather than a whole bunch, whereas a larger handful of basil will do rather nicely. Other ingredients, such as dried chillies or garlic, can also pack a powerful punch, so smaller amounts of those ingredients are preferable, unless you prefer their presence to be stronger in the broth’s flavours.
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Corn-Broth_ingredients-in-instant-pot.jpg)
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Corn-Broth_cooked-in-instant-pot.jpg)
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Corn-Broth_in-strainer.jpg)
If you’re making this broth without a specific use in mind, you might keep your seasonings on the conservative side - a smashed garlic clove, a whole green onion, and a few black peppercorns or coriander seeds, perhaps a handful of basil. If you’re making this broth for Corn Soup with Ginger and Dill for example, you might include some of the same seasonings that the finished dish includes: ginger, dill, parsley, and coriander, to bolster and echo those flavour notes. For my most recent batch, I used a selection of herbs that happened to be growing in my garden - dill, green onion, celery leaf, parsley, basil, garlic, with a generous grinding of black pepper. Knowing that steaming bowls of corn soup will lift my spirits in the coming colder seasons, I jarred and froze my recent batch, and everytime I open the freezer, the frozen amber gems peek out at me, reminding me of eating pleasures to come.
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Corn-Broth_in-jars.jpg)
Using glass jars to freeze instead of plastic
As part of continued efforts to reduce the use of plastics in my kitchen, I now am in the habit of freezing broth and soups in glass canning jars, and I invite you to do the same. You might think - wait, won’t those jars crack?- and the answer is no, if you follow a few simple steps.
First, make sure your broth has cooled to room temperature before putting it in the freezer - I usually cool my broth in the glass containers on the counter, then store them in the fridge overnight or so before putting them into the freezer to make sure the broth is well and truly cooled.
The second important step is to use the right jar - I buy packs of wide mouthed, straight sided canning jars from my local hardware store. Costing little more than a few large packs of ziplocks or plastic containers, they will give you far more varied and longer use than single use plastics.
No matter where your jars come from, make sure to use a straight sided jar, as opposed to a jar with rounded shoulders. Also make sure your broth does not go over the headspace line - if your jar doesn’t have a headspace line, such as if you are reusing a pasta sauce or other foodstuffs jar - just leave at least an inch of unfilled space above your broth. This gives the broth room to expand when freezing, without cracking the jar.
You can also choose to let the jars freeze before putting the lids on, again reducing pressure when the liquids freeze and expand, but leaving generous headspace room reduces the need to do this without risk of cracking your jar.
To defrost your frozen jars, just pop the jars onto the counter the morning you want to use them, and by dinner time they should be totally defrosted and ready to use. You can also put the frozen jars into the fridge to defrost a day or two before you plan to use the broth.
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Corn-Broth_in-jars-2.jpg)
Corn Broth
Ingredients
- 8 corn cobs kernels stripped and reserved for another use
- 8-9 cups of filtered water
- 1 mixed handful of washed herbs of your choice: such as basil, parsley, cilantro, celery leaf, thyme, rosemary, oregano, etc. (don’t bother to remove any stems etc.)
- Optional ingredients: green onion, smashed garlic clove, whole black peppercorns, slices of ginger, dried chillies
- Optional: pinch of sea salt or Himalayan salt
Instructions
- For the Instant Pot: Place your sheared corn cobs into the stainless steel inner pot. Pour in 8 cups of filtered water. Add your chosen herbs and seasoning ingredients.
- Secure the lid and set your instant pot on high pressure for 30 minutes.
- Important note: Once your Instant Pot has completed its cooking time, DO NOT release the pressure manually (as this will put you at risk of releasing boiling hot liquid out of the pressure release valve). Let the pressure release naturally on its own, making sure the locking pin has released and no more pressure remains inside the pot, before you unlock and remove the lid.
- Once your broth is completed, let it cool down to room temperature. At some point while your broth is cooling, set up a fine meshed strainer over a large bowl that can fit at least 8 cups. Once your broth is cooled, use tongs to gather the corn cobs and anything else you can grab out of the broth and place in the strainer, then pour the remaining broth over the solids already in the strainer. Press down on the solids in the strainer to extract as much goodness as you can, and leave to drain for a few extra minutes.
- Ladle or pour your broth into your jars, making sure to use straight sided jars and leaving 1” headspace if freezing (see detailed notes below). Bring your broth to room temperature before placing it in the fridge or freezer.
- If using within a few days, chill in the fridge until use, otherwise freeze for future eating delight.
- For the stovetop: Follow the instructions as above, but instead of using the Instant Pot, use a heavy bottom pot, such as a dutch oven. Place all of the ingredients into the pot, bring to a boil on high heat, then reduce to a simmer on the stovetop, for 45 minutes to one hour. If you find your broth has reduced too much, you can top it up with extra water so that your resulting strained broth equals about 7 to 8 cups. Follow the steps above to strain and store.