Easy Corn Stock Recipe (With Video and Step-by-Step)

Prep Time:

10 mins

Cook Time:

45 mins

Total Time:

55 mins

Servings:

4

Yield:

4 cups

Making an easy corn stock from spent cobs is a terrific way to savor the sweet, summery taste of peak-season corn—even in the dead of winter. Besides the cobs themselves, you'll need just a white onion—we prefer its subtle flavor to the more punchy yellow and red ones—and a few cups of water. After just 45 minutes, you'll be rewarded with a quart of liquid gold that you can use to flavor chowder, risottos, soups, pastas, and more.

Hang onto this recipe for the next time you're making a corn salad, creamed corn, or other recipe that calls for removing the kernels. You won't believe how much flavor the cobs hold, and it'll feel so good to put them to use rather than tossing them in the trash.

A glass measuring pitcher filled with liquid and a cob of corn on a cutting board — Credit:
Kelsey Hansen

Why Make Corn Stock?

Just as with stocks made from bones and vegetable scraps, making corn stock is like creating something from nothing. With some gentle heat, a few quarts of water, and some patience, items that would otherwise be destined for the trash produce a full-flavored liquid that lends depth and body to a number of dishes.

What's more, corn stock allows you to hold onto the taste of corn when it's at its peak. Freeze it in one- to two-cup containers, then use in chowders, risottos, and sauces when you need a little summer sunshine.

How to Remove Corn Kernels (Without Making a Mess)

Before making corn stock, you'll need to remove the kernels from a few ears of corn. There are plenty of ways to do this, but our preferred method goes like this:

First, snap each ear in half crosswise—it'll provide you with a flat surface, keeping the ear steady as you cut. Additionally, working with shorter pieces will help keep the kernels from flying around your kitchen.
Next, stand one of the halves on your cutting board with the flat end facing down. Cut straight down with your knife to remove the kernels, rotating the ear as you go. (If desired, place your cutting board on a baking sheet to catch any kernels that do escape.)

Other methods: You can also stand the whole ear in the bottom of a large bowl when cutting off the kernels, or place it—narrow side down—in the hole of a Bundt pan before slicing. Both methods will help catch the kernels as they're removed.

Directions

Fresh corn on the cob next to chopped onions on a surface — Credit:
Kelsey Hansen

Cook corn, onion, and water:

Place onion, corn cobs, and 2 quarts water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and immediately reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 45 minutes.

Credit:
Kelsey Hansen

Credit:
Kelsey Hansen
Cool and strain:

Remove from heat and let cool before straining.

Credit:
Kelsey Hansen

How to Store Corn Stock

Cooled corn stock can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week or frozen for up to six months.

How to Use Easy Corn Stock

This subtly sweet stock can be used to flavor many different recipes, including:

Risotto: Instead of chicken broth, use corn stock to cook up a creamy, tender risotto. It would be delicious in this easy, cheesy recipe or this corn-studded, brown rice version.

Soup: Swap in a few cups of corn stock when simmering a warming, comforting soup like our chicken tortilla soup, this choose-your-own-adventure vegetable soup, or a creamy cauliflower soup.

Chowder: Since many chowders already include corn, this one is a no-brainer. Try it in our Southwestern-inspired recipe or this corn and butternut squash combo.

Pasta and grains: Use corn stock in a one-pan pasta dish—like this easy shrimp and orzo recipe or our Greek chicken fusilli—to infuse the noodles with delicious corn flavor as they cook.