COBS

[PaulDoug]

I had corn on the cob for dinner tonight. Fresh out of the garden. Is there a special way to dry the cobs? I see future pens. These are a nice size.

 

[Monty]

Cooked cobs don't work very well. Go to Wally World or a sporting good store that sells dried field corn on the cob. Remove the corn and feed it to the squirrels or deer and use those cobs.

 

[Skye]

Yep, as Monty said, it's not the best.

Looking at the pic below, the cobs you buy dried will be smaller in diameter allowing you to stay out of the pith. When dry, the pith turns to an almost styrofoam consistancy, not good. You want to stay off the woody ring, just barely getting into the chaff. Some people sell stabilized ones that are easier to work with, but they're 'spensive.

 

[PaulDoug]

Well, darn, I wanted home grown cob pens! Guess I buy some at the pet store and tell the Grand kids it's home grown. What do they know anyway?! I've made one from stabilized, I want to be more primitive....

 

[Skye]

Well, there's a chance you'll go through a streak like I did where every darn cob you turn blows apart on the lathe, you may get your fill of primitive. Just keep at it, use plenty of CA! The thin stuff absorbs easier I think.

 

[shull]

Corn Cobs

I agree with the others as far it goes. As we don't have many places around her that carry dried cobs, I have made corn cob pens from cooked cobs, but you do need to use small cobs and large kits. The next problem you have is the actual drying. The cooked cobs tend to bend as they dry as well as get a very unsavory black mildew. Monitoring the drying progress and constant turning and weighting down will help the bending problem and a spritz of diluted bleach solution will take care of the mildew. Make sure all the kernals are removed and wrap in paper towels as you begin to dry them out. I haven't tried a dehydrator yet. If nothing else, give it a try. The worst that will hapen you will end up with compost.

Steve
Richarson TX

 

[BobBurt]

Great "cob" description

Thanks.....I didn't know that

 

[hilltopper46]

If you have corn in the garden. let the ear(s) ripen on the stalk and and dry down until late September or early October. Sweetcorn will be much more shriveled than field corn after it dries down, but there isn't any reason the cobs won't be usable, in fact, they might even be better than field corn cobs. Chances are the sweet corn cobs will be white cobs, as opposed to the red cobs people tend to think of in field corn, but that is ok too if you want to color them.

BTW, we picked all our sweet corn tonight and I'll be taking it into work tomorrow and Friday to see if I can give it away. Anybody want me to email you a few ears?:biggrin::biggrin:

 

[PaulDoug]

Sorry, but mine is not drying in the field. I'm eating what little I have because there is nothing much better than corn on the cob right out of the garden, unless it is my fresh black berries over vanilla ice cream...

 

[leehljp]

I disagree with the above statements - in the way they lead up to a conclusion that you can't do an eaten corn on the cob well.

In a land where I can't find a dried cob, as I could in the States, I was determined to find a way. I look for the smaller ears in a bunch and buy those.
1. Eat them;
2. wash them in the sink to scrub the fluff and extra kernels off;
3. wipe the excess water off and leave on a few layers of paper towel to let them "wick" dry over night;
4. Check them for straight, and bend to straighten them;
5. Microwave 1 or 2 for no more than 15 to 20 seconds; Let them sit for an hour
6. Repeat every hour for 3 or 4 hours (do NOT go longer unless you are prepared for them to burn from the inside out and smell up the microwave for a few days!)
7. Do this over several days until dry.
8. THEN let them sit in a very warm and dry place for a week or two. Check daily for bugs or rodents going after them. DAMHIKT!
OR, you can put them in a dehydrator for a few days, always checking to make sure that they are straight.

I have made a half a dozen this way and had about a 60% success rate. I wish I could get some dried cobs here, but since I can't, I do the best I can with what I have.

It can be done, but not as easy as with purchased cobs or dried on the stalk cobs.

 

[PaulDoug]

OK, now how bad do I want this? Sounds like a lot of work. I just put mine on a window sill in my work shop. Guess I had better check them, they are probably all twisted. These would have been perfect for pen because they are not very big in diameter. I have a few more to eat, maybe I will get lucky and get one dried about right.

 

[Skye]

Before you do that, wrap it in a little newspaper and stuff it in a pipe. It'll let it dry straight rather than curling. Wrap it in newspaper to take up any extra space in the pipe. It'll take a little longer, but it's good insurance.

 

[PaulDoug]

Great idea, thanks. Maybe PVC with some holes drilled along it to help the drying also.

 

[PaulDoug]

Ok a quick picture of my newly invented "corn cob dehydration chamber". Was going to try to patent it but would be too expensive because of all the hi-tech equipment required to manufacture them in great quanities. Besides, I'd have to pay Skye royalities for the idea!:clown: Now if it doesn't mold...

 

[Skye]

Heh, looks like it should work just fine! If it's anywhere as hot as it is here, it should dry pretty quickly.

 

[cozee]

Since I pre-drill (1/4") cobs prior to stabilizing, when dealing with wet ones, I simply insert a piece of 1/4" rod in pre-drilled hole and toss them in the dehydrator. I then remove the rod prior to their dunking in the stabilizing jar.

 

[papaturner]

Corn Cob

I agree with most of what I have read.......However you don`t really have to use the larger kits and smaller corn cobs. What I have done is get what is called pencil cob corn cobs (these are very small in dia.) . With these you can actually turn slimline pens but as Skye said use plenty of ca. Thin is best.

 

[cozee]

I agree with most of what I have read.......However you don`t really have to use the larger kits and smaller corn cobs. What I have done is get what is called pencil cob corn cobs (these are very small in dia.) . With these you can actually turn slimline pens but as Skye said use plenty of ca. Thin is best.

Popcorn cobs work well for smaller diameter pens also!

 

[TellicoTurning]

Well, darn, I wanted home grown cob pens! Guess I buy some at the pet store and tell the Grand kids it's home grown. What do they know anyway?! I've made one from stabilized, I want to be more primitive....

Paul,
just leave the corn to go to seed... after it matures, let it dry, shuck it and shell it and turn your pens...

 

[TellicoTurning]

Sorry, but mine is not drying in the field. I'm eating what little I have because there is nothing much better than corn on the cob right out of the garden, unless it is my fresh black berries over vanilla ice cream...

I didn't save any for pens either... what we didn't eat, my wife put up for the winter... it's all done now and I've pulled the stalks out of the garden and stacked them to dry so LOML can have "corn shocks" for her fall yard decorations.