No-recipe corn-cob stock

Corn. We’ll happily eat it all summer – boiled, grilled, sometimes raw, occasionally microwaved, on the cob and off. Off the cob, corn has endless uses. Shear the cooked or raw kernels off the cob with a sharp knife. Toss kernels into salads, relishes and salsas. Tuck them into tacos. Make fritters, pancakes, corn-studded cornbread, creamy corn chowder or risotto. What to do with the leftover cobs? Waste not, want not. Make stock!

Cob stock is sweet, subtle and silky, and makes a great base for soups, especially for corn chowder, or any vegetable soup or seafood chowder, where an undertow of sugar is welcome. (Unsalted, or barely, we could
even see it in smoothies.) Here’s a no-recipe recipe. You can make stock with one cob, or four, or more – however many cobs life hands you. Best made with freshly shucked, not dried-out cobs.

No-recipe corn-cob stock

Corn cob(s) from uncooked, boiled or grilled corn, preferably freshly-shucked

Water to cover

Pinch salt

Break corn cobs into 2-3 pieces. Stuff them into a pan – you want a snug fit. Cover with water. (If cobs float, hold the largest piece down in the pan with tongs, adding enough water to submerge it.) Salt lightly. Bring to a simmer, then lower heat and cover. Simmer gently, rolling the cobs around from time to time. Cook until broth tastes deeply corny. Rule of thumb is about an hour, but let tastebuds be your guide here, not a clock. Strain stock — consign cobs to compost — and store it in the fridge, where it will keep for a few days, or reduce stock (to concentrate flavor and save space) and pop it in the freezer.

Try this: Warm freshly-shucked raw corn in butter in a sauté pan. Add a splash of corn stock to keep kernels moist. Stir over gentle heat for a couple of minutes or until corn is bright yellow, glossy, and cooked to your liking. If the pan starts looking dry before corn is done, add a little more stock, and keep stirring; check seasoning.