Corn Cob Jelly

Like my mom and my grandma before me, I am a jelly maker!

I've made blackberry jelly and jam, grape jelly, strawberry jam, apple pie jam, pear preserves, etc.

Now I can add corn cob jelly to my list of jellies I have made!

I had heard of it, but never made it before.
My cousins made a batch and I tasted it. Yummy! So, I thought I would give it a try.

We went to an Ohio farm yesterday and bought a huge bag of corn to freeze. After spending all afternoon putting corn in the freezer, I held back a dozen ears of the cobs to make jelly.

If you google it on your computer, you will come up with a variety of recipes to use.
This is how I did it.

CORN COB JELLY
(my version)

12 corn cobs (after you have scraped off the corn with a knife)
1 T. lemon juice
1 pkg of Sure-Jel
sugar
water

Put the cobs in a large pot. (I broke mine into two pieces) and cover them with water. I found that it took almost two quarts to cover the cobs. Bring to a boil and boil with the lid off for 30 minutes.

After  30 minutes, take out the cobs and pour the cooking water through a cheesecloth to strain.

I was wanting 3 or 3 1/2 cups of water. I only had to take out a large tablespoon or two of water to have the 3 1/2 cups of liquid I wanted.

Put your strained liquid into a large pot, add about a teaspoon of butter, 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice, and the Sure-Jel contents. Stir and bring to a boil.

Add 3 1/2 cups of sugar, stir and bring to a boil again. Boil for 2 minutes (while stirring). Take your pot from the heat, skim off any foam and ladle into sterilized jars. Wipe jar rims and threads. (I use a damp paper towel) Screw on your new canning lids and rings and flip the jars upside down for 5 minutes. Then turn upright. Now let them sit undisturbed until you hear a loud ping, indicating they have sealed.

                                                        Five jelly jars of liquid gold.

More tidbits of info:

As always follow manufacture instructions on the canning lids and jars!
I sterilized my jars and put my rings into boiling water to sterilize them.
I dropped my flat lids into boiling water, then immediately took them off the heat and let them stay in the hot (not boiling) water for a few minutes.

As I have always done for many years, I inverted my jars of jelly for 5 minutes, then turned them right-side up. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, then please, by all means, put them in a boiling water bath. I think for small jars of jelly they tell you to process for 10 minutes. (Instructions are on the Sure-Jel package insert.)

When I put my jelly into the jars, I thought it seemed awful watery for lack of better words. I was afraid it wasn't going to gel. But, they sealed quickly - and this morning they were gelled!

If you use different amounts of liquid as some recipes found on the internet call for, always use the same amount of sugar as liquid. For example, if you use 3 cups of strained liquid - add 3 cups of sugar. I had almost 3 1/2 cups of liquid after boiling my cobs, so I used 3 1/2 cups. I am glad I did. The 3 1/2 cup mixture made exactly 5 jars of jelly!

I haven't tasted my batch, yet. But, after filling the jars, I did scrape the pot with a spoon and tasted it.  It was good. It is a little hard to describe the taste. Some say it tastes like honey.
Well - I am sure most of  you have heard of corn whiskey - this is corn honey!

I hope you give it a try, I think you will enjoy it.

Okay, I couldn't wait. I opened a jar and spread some on toast.
It turned out perfect. It has a mild taste and gelled perfectly.