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An image of four glass jars filled with strained Corn Broth, with a counter and window in the background..
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Corn Broth

Invitingly citrine-golden in colour, and fragrant with the sweet and earthy notes of fresh corn, Corn Broth extends the abundance of late summer corn. Denuded corn cobs, which would otherwise go to waste, instead generously provide a precious and deeply flavoured elixir that can be used right away, chilled for use in a few days, or frozen for future eating delight.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Servings: 8 cups, approx.

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.

Notes

Notes on freezing in glass jars:
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.