Old‑Fashioned Corn Cob Jelly (Easy Canning Recipe)
Corn cob jelly is a light, sweet jelly made from leftover sweet corn cobs. The natural sugars in the cobs create a golden jelly that tastes similar to honey or apple jelly. This easy water bath canning recipe is a great way to use every part of your sweet corn harvest and add a unique homemade jelly to your pantry.
Servings: 5 half pints
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 sweet corn cobs, no corn
- 6 cups water
- 4 cups sugar
- 5 tablespoons fruit pectin
Instructions
- Remove the sweet corn from the cob with a knife.
- Place the cobs into a Dutch oven pot with the 6 cups of water.
- Bring the pot to a boil and boil the corn cobs for 10 minutes, rotating the cobs to ensure they all are boiled.
- Remove the pot from the heat and remove the cobs.
- Use a ladle and strain 3 cups of the corn cob water into the pitcher.
- Wash out the Dutch Oven Pot so you can reuse it to make the jelly or use another large pot.
- Place the 3 cups corn cob water into the pot with pectin and stir.
- Bring to a boil and once at a boil, add the sugar.
- Cook the mix on medium/high heat stirring to keep from sticking to the bottom.
- Bring to a rolling boil for 3 minutes and then remove from the heat.
- Skim off any foam.
- Ladle the jelly into the jars and leave 1/4" headspace.
- Wipe down rims of jars with a wet sterile seal.
- Place the seals on the jars and hand tighten the jars.
- Place the jars into a water bath canner with hot water and bring to a boil for 10 minutes.
- Remove the jars and place on a towel and cover with a towel to allow slow cooling and prevent jars from cracking.
- After 12 hours, check to see if the jars have seals (no longer pressed up, but down) and then label and date jars.
Video
Notes
Tips for Canning Cob Jelly:
- The corn cobs should boil hard and the water from the cobs run through a fine mesh strainer.
- Make sure the jelly gets to a rolling boil (a boil that you cannot stir down)
- Have your sterile jelly jars ready with seals and bands to process.
- Pour hot jelly immediately into sterile jars.
- You can use food coloring to enhance the color of your jelly. Food coloring is optional.
- Water bath can the cob jelly for 10 minutes. The timer starts when the water is hot.
- Use a large pot that has a basket to water bath the jars.