Homemade Corn Syrup

What to do with some frozen corn lefted over from last summer's crop. Well I found the recipe for homemade corn syrup on Brave Tart. Stella, has some amazing stuff over there. She makes everything from scratch;  someone I would love to meet and she's a Kentucky Girl!!! My Gardner Guy has plans some day to go back to Kentucky for a visit so perhaps I will get to meet this great cook!!!
"In Kentucky and some parts of the south, many thrifty cooks make corn cob jelly to squeeze every last drop of value from their corn. The jelly has a mild, honey-like flavor. While enjoying some with butter and biscuits, she thought how lovely the flavor would taste with vanilla, and further thought how nice it would taste in a soda. (according to her she is obsessed with soda!!! ). To that end, she made some corn flavored syrup and along the way discovered it can be used like “corn syrup” in many recipes. Not that a giant jar of sugar syrup is a health food, exactly, but for those with a fear of commercial corn syrup or a desire to reduce the amount of factory foods in their life, this is a great alternative."

Next on my list to make or try is some corn cobb jelly!!!
Suckers with my batch of corn syrup and this fall popcorn balls!!!



Yield: About 2 1/2 pounds corn syrup

Ingredients:

• 14 ounces corn on the cob. The corn is just there to impart flavor, so if it's a little bit over or a little bit under, it won't matter.
• 5 1/4 cups water (use 2 1/2 cups water if you plan to leave the corn off)
• 2 pounds sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 vanilla bean (I did use vanilla flavoring and it turned out okay for me)

Directions:

1. Slice corn cobs into one-inch slices.   Note: If you plan to leave the corn off, skip directly to step five.
2. Bring a medium-sized saucepan filled with the water and cut corn to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until water is reduced by half - about thirty minutes.
4. Using a colander, strain out the corn, reserving the corn-flavored water.
5. Return the water to the saucepan and add the sugar and salt.
6. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add both the seeds and the pod to the saucepan.
7. Turn heat to medium-low and stir until sugar is dissolved.
8. Simmer until the mixture is thick enough to stick to the back of a spoon.  
9. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
10. Store in the refrigerator with the vanilla bean until ready to use.
11. When ready to use, if necessary, microwave with a touch of water and gently stir to remove the sugar crystals.