Corn Cob Jelly Recipe

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I decided to try something fun. Corn Cob Jelly sounds weird but hey, if you add enough sugar even corn cobs can turn out tasty. We freeze corn every year and we have LOTS of cobs we throw away every year! Let’s use those and make a treat instead.

Corn cob jelly is made in 3 steps. First make a juice from stripped cobs of corn, then make corn cob jelly with sure-jel pectin, finally process in a water bath canner.

Label your jars with pretty printable Canning Labels! Check them out.

Quantity

One batch will give you about 4 half pints of jelly.

For each batch of jelly you need to have 3 cups of corn liquid. For a single batch it is suggested that you use 12 cobs and 2 quarts of water.

When I made this I just filled my stock pot with cobs and covered it with water. I had plenty! I made more than one batch of jelly.

Know your Canner

This is a water bath canning project. It is also perfect for a steam canner! If you haven’t tried water bath canning or steam canning yet. I highly recommend checking out

These tutorials  will introduce you to both canning methods and help you choose the method that suits your needs best. And how to set up and run the processing step.

Corn Cob Jelly extended directions and tips

Gather your canning supplies

Ingredients

  • 1 dozen corn cobs
  • Approximately 2 quarts water
  • 1 3/4 ounces powdered pectin (1 package) Sure-jel Brand Pectin
  • 3 cups sugar

Preparing the Corn Juice

First you need to remove the kernels if you have not already. Blanch corn cobs for 5 minutes.

Then cut the kernels from the cobs. You can then use these kernels for canning, freezing or other recipes. The day I did this we had been freezing corn for the winter, and I just saved enough cobs to fill my stock pot.

For each batch of jelly, use about 12 cobs and 2 quarts of water. I just filled my stock pot with cobs as I had plenty. I made more than one batch of jelly.

A large stock pot filled with stripped corn cobs.

Next make a juice from your corn cobs by cooking those cobs in water.

Put corncobs in a large stock pot. Then cover the cobs with water. Bring to a boil, and boil for 35-40 minutes. Liquid will reduce during that time. That’s ok. I keep the lid on to make this more efficient and to loose less water.

I did this out in my carport with my volcano grill.

You’ll need to end up with 3 cups of liquid for each batch of jelly you want to make.

I had plenty! You might want just enough for one batch or two. I ended up making two batches of jelly here.

Cloudy corn cob liquid in a large glass measuring cup.

Allow the juice to cool enough to handle easily. Then strain your juice through double cheesecloth.

How to Make Corn Cob Jelly

Measure out 3 cups of juice.

It is difficult to make double batches of jelly so be sure and make a batch at a time. What I do is separate pots cooking at the same time. Then I can process the batches all at once.

  • Measure out 3 cups of corn liquid. Stir in the pectin and bring to a boil.
  • Add the sugar all at once, which will likely stop the boil. Bring back to a boil while stirring.
  • Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
  • Remove from the heat and skim off any foam if needed.

This was made with SureJel Brand Pectin.

Canning Corn Cob Jelly

Fill your jars with hot jelly, leaving a 1/4-inch headspace. The headspace is the distance between the food and the flat canning lid.

Wipe the rims clean with a damp cloth or paper towel. You don’t want the stickiness to interfere with the seal.

The jelly is now ready to be processed in a water bath or a steam canner. I highly recommend steam canning. But a simple water bath works too. Check the links at the top of this page for more detains on each canning method.

Process your corn cob jelly; both 1/2 pints or pints need 10 minutes in a water bath canner.

Altitude Adjustments for Boiling Water Bath Canner

  • Altitude in Feet – processing time
  • 0-1,001- 10 minutes
  • 1,001-6,000 – 15 minutes
  • 6,001 and higher – 20 minutes

For more information on why this is important, see this altitude adjustments page.

More Ways to Preserve Corn

Corn Cob Jelly Recipe Card

Corn Cob Jelly

Corn cob jelly sounds weird, but, hey, if you add enough sugar even corn cobs can turn out tasty! :). This recipe is made with Sure-Jel Brand Pectin.
Print Recipe
Two small jars of golden corn cob jelly.
Prep Time:1 hour 30 minutes
Processing Pints (adjust for altitude):10 minutes
Total Time:1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 12 Corn Cobs Blanch corn for 5 minutes. Cut kernels from cob, reserving kernels for another recipe.
  • 2 quarts Water approximately
  • 1 ¾ ounces Sure Jel Brand Powdered Pectin 1 package
  • 3 cups Sugar

Instructions

For Juice

  • Put corncobs in pot of water.
  • Bring to a boil. Boil for 35-40 minutes.
  • Strain liquid through double cheesecloth.

For Jelly

  • Start by preparing jars and getting water in the canner heating.You want the canner hot, but not boiling, when the jars are ready to be processed.
    See full water bath canning instructions here.  
  • Measure out 3 cups of strained liquid. Stir in the pectin and bring to a boil.
  • Add the sugar all at once, which will likely stop the boil. Bring back to a boil while stirring.
  • Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat.
  • Skim foam if needed.
  • Put hot jelly into hot jar, leaving 1/4” headspace. 
  • Remove air bubbles, wipe rim clean, and place seal and ring. 
  • Place jar in the warm canner. Proceed to fill all jars. 
  • Process according to directions below. 

Notes

Processing with a Water Bath Canner
Place the jar in the warm canner. Proceed to fill all jars placing them in the canner.
When all the jars are filled, bring the water in the canner to a boil.  When a boil is reached that is when you’ll start your timing.   Process for the length of time on the chart below.  Adjust for your altitude. 
 After your time is over, turn the heat off remove the lid and allow the canner to rest for about 5 minutes. Then bring your jars up out of the water.  Allow them to rest for another 5 minutes. Then remove the jars and place them a few inches apart on a thick towel to cool completely.  Leave them alone for about 12 hours.  
When they are cooled remove the metal bands, check the seals, label the jars and store them away! 
Processing Time for Half Pints and Pints in Water Bath (Hot Pack)
  • 0-1,000 ft – 10 minutes
  • 1,001-6,000 ft – 15 minutes
  • 6,001+ – 20 minutes
Source: The National Center for Home Food Preservation

Source: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_07/corncob_jelly.html

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Carla
Carla
9 months ago

Could I double the recipe? Three cups of juice just makes 4-1/2 pints. With all the other jelly recipe I get 8-1/2 pint with 4 or 5 cups of juice and 1 sure je.l

Tabby
Tabby
1 year ago

I usually scrape my cobs with a butter knife to make creamed corn. Can I still do that or should I leave that juice on the cobs for the jelly?

Saffron
Saffron
1 year ago

I am very confused by this recipe. There is no way to make this jelly shelf stable, other than pressure canning. There are no acidic ingredients. Corn has to be pressure canned…. Pectin does not add acidity to prevent botulism. This would have to be refrigerated.

William Moss SR
William Moss SR
2 years ago

Does the corn cob Jelly have to be made the same day you cut the kernels off?

Rachel Abernathy
Admin
Rachel Abernathy
2 years ago

You could put them in the fridge for a day or two, I suppose, and then take them out to make the jelly. But I expect it would taste better the fresher you made it.

-Rachel (Sharon’s assistant)

LoriSue
LoriSue
1 year ago

I always freeze my corn cobs until I get enough to make jelly- with only two in my family, I usually only make 2-4 cobs of corn at a time, I’ve made corn cob jelly since I lived on the farm as a child- you can use it as a substitute for honey in many recipes.

LIsa D
LIsa D
2 years ago

I grow a lot of peppers to make pepper jellies, which can be used in cream cheese, for glazes and as toppings. Aside from toast and a PB&J, what can you do with corn cob jelly? What does it go best with?

Emily K Winokur
Emily K Winokur
2 years ago

I didn’t think anyone else knew about corn cob jelly. My grandmother use to make this because she went through the great depression and they didn’t waste anything. I continued making it. It’s a nice change when you want a lite tasting jelly.