Corn cob syrup--how to preserve?

[miss_thenorth]

I made the corn cob syrup yesterday. . Waste not want not and all, I boiled thecobs up and added sugar and reduced it by half. It is quite good!!

My question is--How would you preserve this? I got about 10 cups of syrup, and stored it in old Ragu jars. The Ragu lids did seal, but I know it is not proper. should I reheat, put in canning jars and waterbath it? Or just store it in the fridge? Or would it be good enough of a seal to put in the pantry until the seal is broke?

 

[patandchickens]

You may just have to experiment -- if it were me, and I were thinking of doing this again in future, I would do several jars each way and see what happened over time.

It might be worth doing some googling on the subject of botulism, processing temperatures, and substances that are not particularly acid but *are* high sugar. I really do not know enough about that to say anything sensible on the subject.

Beyond that, your main potential problem would probably be fermentation if your sterility was less than 100%. It would be worth storing the noncanned nonrefrigerated jars *in* something, so that if they do explode the mess and shrapnel are contained.

Can I ask a dumb question? What exactly does boiling the cobs with sugar water *do*? Is it extracting further sugars (converted from starches) in the cob? Any idea what, roughly, the yeild is in terms of additional sugar beyond what you put into the water yourself? I have never heard of doing this and am intriqued, and would like to know more. It does sound like potentially a more useful purpose for cobs than letting the chickens pick 'em over

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[miss_thenorth]

Well, I ended up reheating it and waterbathing it in sterilized jars. I lso reheatd my pear butter and waterbathed it too. that way I don't have to worry.

Can I ask a dumb question? What exactly does boiling the cobs with sugar water *do*? Is it extracting further sugars (converted from starches) in the cob? Any idea what, roughly, the yeild is in terms of additional sugar beyond what you put into the water yourself? I have never heard of doing this and am intriqued, and would like to know more. It does sound like potentially a more useful purpose for cobs than letting the chickens pick 'em over

Well, I'm not sure--it did extract flavour, so I am assuming some starch also. I don't think I could say what the yield would be, if any beyond what I put in. All I can say is there is a definite flavour present, that would not be there with just a sugar water syrup. And it is a pleasant taste.

Hubby's on nights this week, so we will have pancakes with this syrup for supper.

One of tha main reasons I did this recipe , was just becasue I could, and I had the ingredients. I love making things from scratch, making what you "could buy" in the grocery store, but making it better or healthier.so this was just another challenge for me. And I would have to say a successful one.

Oh, and the chickens loved the cobs after they were boiled too, so , even better that they got used an extra step!

 

[FarmerDenise]

Did you use the sweet corn cobs after you had them for dinner?
I'm like you, always trying out stuff, often out of curiosity or just because I can

 

[patandchickens]

I think it's a neat idea, for the same reason as you folks -- "something for nothing", and a way to get more mileage out of something otherwise discarded.

I am pretty sure I will try it myself next time we have corn on the cob. ESPECIALLY since you tell me that the chickens still get to pick over the cobs

Pat

 

[Gazinga]

where is this recipie for corn cob syrup

 

[miss_thenorth]

Sorry! I posted it in my other thread regarding the syrup. I will start a new thread with it. It really is quite delicious, and to stretch out the corn, I like it even better.

 

[me&thegals]

Well, MTN, we just waterbath can our maple syrup and have never had any problems with it. I can't remember if I read that was okay or just did it, but it works