Ingredients

The following ingredients have 2 Servings
  • 14 ounces corn on the cob
  • 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

Instruction

  • Slice corn cobs into one-inch slices. This was the hardest part of making homemade corn syrup. It's not easy to cut corn cobs. Use a sharp knife, put your weight into it, and be careful. Note: If you plan to leave the corn off, skip directly to step five.
  • Bring a medium-sized saucepan filled with the water and cut corn to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to medium and simmer until water is reduced by half - about thirty minutes.
  • Using a colander, strain out the corn, reserving the corn-flavored water.
  • Return the water to the saucepan and add the sugar and salt.
  • Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add both the seeds and the pod to the saucepan.
  • Turn heat to medium-low and stir until sugar is dissolved.
  • Simmer until the mixture is thick enough to stick to the back of a spoon. Amanda said to simmer for thirty minutes, but I let mine go for an hour. I know because I watched an entire episode of Mad Men while it was cooking down.
  • Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
  • Store in the refrigerator with the vanilla bean until ready to use.
  • When ready to use, if necessary, microwave with a touch of water and gently stir to remove the sugar crystals.