Don’t throw away your corn cobs after canning! Use them to make this zero waste corn cob jelly low sugar canning recipe.
After canning home-grown corn, there’s always a big pile of corn cobs leftover. You can feed them to the livestock, of course, but if you’d like to preserve the golden sunshine flavor of summer and early fall, try turning them into corn cob jelly!
Pomona’s Pectin for Low Sugar Jelly
I’m sharing with you the canning recipe I created for canning using my Pomona’s Pectin. The biggest problem with the other recipes that I’ve seen for corn cob jelly is that they called for equal parts corn cob juice and sugar. Bleh. Most commercial jams are way too sweet for me and my family.
Pomona’s pectin can be a little harder to work with than the other brands of pectin but only because you must follow the steps correctly and in order. This isn’t a problem, however, as the instructions are straightforward.
I’m not a very precise jam maker (I’m not a very precise anything maker) and even I haven’t messed up yet with Pomona’s.
Corn Cob Jelly – Low Sugar Recipe
Use up those corn cobs after canning with this simple jelly.
Corn Cob Jelly - Low Sugar
Ingredients
- 9 Cups Non-GMO Corn Cob Juice*
- 2 tsp. Calcium Water
- 3-4 Cups Organic Sugar or other sweetener Follow the instructions on the Pomona's packet for anything other than sugar
- 4 Tbsps. Pomona's Pectin
- 1 tsp. Citric Acid
Instructions
Prepare calcium water first:
- Combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid.
- Shake well.
- Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
* To make corn cob juice:
- Place your stripped cobs (they should be bare of corn kernels) in a large stew pot and cover with water.
- Bring to a boil and simmer well for about an hour.
- Remove cobs and put in your chicken bucket. You can strain out the bits of corn that remain but I like them in my jelly and leave them on purpose.
To Finish Corn Cob Jelly:
- Place your sugar in a bowl and mix the dry pectin into it thoroughly. Set aside.
- Put the corn cob juice, calcium water, and citric acid in a large stock pot on medium/high heat.**
- When the juice is boiling, add the sugar/pectin mix. Stir until dissolved.
- Return the mixture to a boil while stirring. Remove from heat.
- Ladle into hot jars, leaving a 1/2" headroom and process for 10 minutes (or according to your elevation and canner instructions) in a water bath canner. Remove from the water bath and place on a heat resistant surface.
- Don't move your jars or tap your lids for 12-24 hours unless you're certain each one has sealed. You can know they've sealed if you hear a "pop". Pomona's Pectin sets up once cooled, FYI.
Notes
Tips for Corn Cob Jelly
If you need to substitute lemon juice for the citric acid, just follow this link to Pomon’s site for instructions. When you have any questions about using their pectin, just go to the website because its really helpful!
Never never used Pomona’s before? You might want to cut this recipe to about 1/3 to test it out.
Give Jelly a Try!
I’m really not a big jam/jelly eater to begin with but as I was making this batch of corn cob jelly, I kept finding myself sniffing the brew. As I was ladling it into jars, I was cleaning up spills with my fingers and popping them into my mouth.
The second I put the corn cob jelly into the water bath to process, I made a piece of toast and slathered it in butter and the leftover corn cob jelly in the bottom of the pan. The baby came over and begged spoonfuls and the both of us sat there eating like ravenous pigs.
To learn about more interesting and unique jams and jellies, please check on my friend Kathie’s book (you’ll know her from her fabulous blog Homespun Seasonal Living).
If you’re going to can corn…
Corn cob jelly is, simply put, a taste of fall.
Its that taste of the air turning crisp in the mornings and at night, but the days are still warm and full of outdoor work. Its woodsy – almost like there’s a bonfire off in the distance. It tastes like school starting up again and moms calling their kids in for dinner.
Needless to say, I’m making more. Corn cob jelly is a great motivation for bothering to can corn!!!
For other ideas on what to do with corn cobs, they are, indeed, considered quite a treat by poultry everywhere. Or wild birds, if you don’t have a backyard flock. Charley from Cooke’s Frontier suggests drying the cobs a bit, covering them in peanut butter and bird seed and making a wild bird feeder with them – genius!
This would be an excellent thing for the kiddos to do, in my opinion. If they’re busy with that, they wont be in the kitchen to catch you sneaking corn cob jelly.
The Rural Economist says in his best permaculture voice,
“I bury cobs under tomato plants. They soak up water and slowly release it back to the plant as the ground dries.”
Dinner Tonight
If you have corn leftover, make this dairy free corn chowder from Nitty Gritty Mama and this delectable Cracklin Cornbread from Learning and Yearning. Yes, put corn cob jelly on it!
I have never heard of Corn Cob Jelly. So glad you shared. Stopping by from Mostly Homemade Monday’s. Pinning this. Maybe I can give this recipe a try next summer.
If you do, let me know if you think of any improvements! Thanks for stopping by…
Wow! Now, that’s a blast from the past! I used to find corn cob jelly at the Stuckey’s truck stops, traveling with my dad – to see my grandma, no less. 😀 Is been a very long time, and this is a very welcome recipe. Thank you!
I hope you enjoy it! I love how food is so connected to our memories.
What a unique recipe and interesting recipe. I must say I have never heard of this before but think its great way to frugal. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays.
Thanks, Marla! I don’t like throwing stuff away – sometimes I’m even stingy with the chickens. My next weird jelly is pit jelly made from the stones from stone fruits like plums and peaches. We’ll see…
Just a note to let you know that I have chosen you post as one of my features on Real Food Fridays Blog hop that goes live tonight @ 7pm EST. Thanks for being part of Real Food Friday and sharing with us!
Thanks, Marla! What an honor!
Just made it and it is fabulous!!
Oh, I’m so pleased!
Pomona’s pectin does not come with citric acid, it comes with a packet of monocalcium phosphate.
Okey dokey.
Just made 8 pints with everything I had on hand! Thanks!!!
Oh, yay! That made me happy to read. I hope you enjoy them!
With Pomona’s you use calcium water- did you use any in your recipe, and if so how much?
Great question! If you’d like to use calcium water, the recommended 3/4 – 1 tsp is great! I hope it turns out well for you.
I also was curious about the calcium water. Would it make a difference in the jelly if I were to use it? If so, please explain.
Also, do you think it would be okay to use even less sugar in this recipe?
I am so excited to try this on some buttered toast like you’d the baby.
Thank you for sharing!
So glad you’re going to make the jelly – it’s such a tasty way to preserve the corn harvest.
If you’re using Pomona’s Pectin, you do need the calcium water because the pectin is activated by it, not the sugar. To learn more about that, you can visit this quick explanation from Pomona’s.
Yes, you can experiment with using less sugar because you’ll have the calcium water to activate the pectin. However, you will want to use ph strips to test the acidity level to be sure it’s still safe to water bath can – always test the acidity when you change a recipe. To be sure you’re safe without testing, pop it into the pressure canner. If you don’t have a pressure canner, you can freeze your jelly instead of canning it.
Thank you so much for the quick response. Looking so forward to tasting this jelly!
You bet! Let me know if you have any other questions along the way. Just a quick reminder, though the box is full of helpful information, sometimes Pomona’s Pectin takes awhile to set up. So, don’t be discouraged if your jelly is a bit wet when it comes out of the canner. I had a batch this year that was too soft for my liking, but a few weeks later it was more firm.
Happy canning!
How long using this recipe for the jelly to set? I’ve made jams for years and instead of going through a water bath, I turned the jars upside down to get a seal. For some reason (not using your Pomonas recipe) the jelly is not setting up. I’ve found through other recipe comments that it can take up to 4 days for Corn Cob Jelly to set. So I’m not sure if it is the lack of the water bath and therefore the jars being moved around that messed up the set process.
Ah, figuring out gel set – one of the great mysteries of canning, right?! 🙂 Pomona’s Pectin can take longer than others for set – here are some insights from the PP website: https://pomonapectin.com/jell/. I highly recommend you water bath can your jelly, though – it doesn’t take long and can ensure a safer product.
I hope it ends up being to your liking!
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
So glad you enjoyed it! Nothing like preserving the taste of summer.
Usually the Pomona’s recipe calls for the same amount of calcium water as pectin. Does this work with just 1 tsp of calcium water and do you still add the citrc acid? Thanks
Great questions! You certainly can use equal amounts calcium water as pectin, if you want to be sure. The calcium content of the corn itself isn’t as high as something like strawberries, but it’s higher than peaches, for example. My water is super hard and must have enough calcium to carry over into the corn cob tea I make for this recipe because I haven’t had a problem using one teaspoon of calcium water. BUT, I wonder if I were making it with say rainwater, if I would need more. This poses an interesting chemistry question that I can’t answer so, to err on the side of caution, go ahead and use equal amounts.
Thank you for posing that question for readers because I hadn’t thought about it. I guess there has to be some kind of blessing to living with hard water! Edited to add: I went off and did some comparison of recipes at Pomona’s site and the NCHFP and decided to up the recipe amount to 2 teaspoons.
The citric acid is to bring the acidity level up, but it won’t do much for the color after awhile. Corn cob jelly will eventually fade in color no matter what you do but the citric acid might help it last longer. According to the company’s information, this fading is common with low-sugar recipes. Here’s a blurb of what they said but more information can be found on their site:
“Low-sweetener jam or jelly that is a bright color at first will begin to fade over time and with exposure to light. This is a process of color loss and does not mean the jam or jelly is going bad.”
Our supply doesn’t usually last long enough to fade much – it’s gone by the end of winter.
If you decide to make a batch, let us know how it goes – especially if you have suggested improvements! Thanks for stopping by!