Homemade Corn Syrup

Hello, it's Friday! That means there's only 6-9 hours until the weekend officially begins, and that's something to be happy about. My week has been a crazy jumble of back to college mishaps and adventures (mainly mishaps), but getting back into the swing of things after winter break was a welcome change for me. This weekend I'm hosting a small (but special!) dinner gathering, and I've been attempting to prepare amidst all the commotion. Thinking about it is making me anxious and tired at the same time - I'd like to scramble twenty things together and take a nap all at the same time. There's a few homemade components this dinner couldn't go on without, and homemade corn syrup is one of them. It's sticky, sweet, corny, and altogether nothing like its store-bought counterpart. I can't tell you how much I love the taste of this, but if eating it straight from a spoon (total yuck sweet, I know, but it was good I swear!) is any indication... Excuse me while I go take a spoonful...

This homemade version of corn syrup can be used in almost any recipe where corn syrup is called for. The only difference is that store-bought corn syrup is stabilized so that it won't crystallize. For hardcore candy makers, this homemade corn syrup might not be what you're looking for. But for everyone else this corn syrup lends an actual depth of flavor to your baked goods that store bought won't. If you're wondering how I thought of this, I didn't. Brave Tart came up with this recipe, and I simply adapted it to my needs. If you have corn cobs, as the original recipe suggests, then by all means use them. For everyone else, I found frozen whole kernel corn worked just fine.

Homemade Corn Syrup

42 ounces water
2 cups corn kernels, frozen or fresh
36 ounces sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbl pure vanilla extract

Heat the water and corn in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the water is reduced by half. Strain out the corn kernels. Add the sugar and salt and stir to dissolve. Using a candy thermometer, bring the mixture to 235 degrees (soft ball stage), stirring occasionally. Stir in the vanilla extract. Cool. Use in any recipe that calls for corn syrup (except for some candies) or store in the refrigerator until needed.

Source: Recipe adapted from Brave Tart.