Forum:

grains and pseudograins

Corn: how do I get the kernels off the dry cob?

pollinator

Posts: 1513

Location: Zone 10a, Australia

posted 3 weeks ago

7
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

How do I get the kernels of a dry cob? We had unexpected success growing corn (no deer found it, and the rats left it alone, too), but I need to get it off the cob.
It's already super dry I did not get around, maybe it's too late? When is it done best?

Medicinal herbs, kitchen herbs, perennial edibles and berries: https://mountainherbs.net/ grown in the Blue Mountains, Australia

Burra Maluca

out to pasture

Posts: 13247

Location: Portugal

4387

I like...

posted 3 weeks ago

10
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

My other half 3D printed up one of these for me, which works very well even when the cobs are very dry. It's a bit like a giant pencil sharpener - classic corn sheller

How permies.com works
What is a Mother Tree ?

PEP - BB10 Badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by gir bot

Joao Winckler

Posts: 178

I like...

posted 3 weeks ago

7
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Twist the cob in your hands while holding it over a bucket, works fine even when fully dry. Takes a bit of effort on the first few kernels to get started but once you break the seal they come off pretty easily. If you've got a lot of cobs it gets tedious fast though, that's when a sheller like the one mentioned is worth it.

Leaftide.com — track your fruit trees, veg & everything in between

Joylynn Hardesty

master pollinator

Posts: 5396

Location: Due to winter mortality, I stubbornly state, zone 7a Tennessee

2357

I like...

posted 3 weeks ago

8
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

A few years back we were given a lot of dried cobs, from folk who couldn't figure out how to remove it from the cob.

I felt a bit guilty when I discovered all that was needed was to rub 2 cobs together. The kernals fell off pretty easy. And my wrists are not very strong. So easy means easy.

'What we do now echoes in eternity.' Marcus Aurelius
How Permies Works Dr. Redhawk's Epic Soil Series

Anne Miller

steward

Posts: 18943

Location: USDA Zone 8a

4792

I like...

posted 3 weeks ago

6
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

As a kid, we always left the dry cobs until needed then we did as Joao suggested.

I like Joylynn's suggestion and wish I had known that back then.

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

Nicola Bludau

pollinator

Posts: 1513

Location: Zone 10a, Australia

posted 3 weeks ago

4
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I'll have a try. I fear my carpal tunnel, though!

Medicinal herbs, kitchen herbs, perennial edibles and berries: https://mountainherbs.net/ grown in the Blue Mountains, Australia

Nicola Bludau

pollinator

Posts: 1513

Location: Zone 10a, Australia

posted 3 weeks ago

10
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I found a video and this looks really good, just a piece of timber, some screws and some holes:

Medicinal herbs, kitchen herbs, perennial edibles and berries: https://mountainherbs.net/ grown in the Blue Mountains, Australia

Doug McEvers

Posts: 89

posted 3 weeks ago

6
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Decker Corn Sheller

https://www.deckermfg.com/store/c9/hardware-specialties/p69/50-cs/

The best way to dry corn is to leave it on the cob until you need it, corn cribs used to dot the landscape. I use one of these hand shellers to strip kernels from my MN 13 heirloom field corn. I cut off the narrow end of the cob as these seeds are the least developed, the butt end kernels are fine and possibly the most highly developed but may not be the best for using in a mechanical planter. The flats are the standard of the industry if you are looking to conform, I may be jeopardizing my lifelong counterculture status with this.

Thom Bri

pollinator

Posts: 960

Location: Illinois

227

posted 3 weeks ago

9
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I use my thumbs. Do a few a day over the months of winter. Great relaxation job while reading on the internet.
It can help to break the cob in half.

Benedict Bosco

Posts: 79

Location: Upper Midwest - 4b

I like...

posted 2 weeks ago

7
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

They make hand cranked corn shellers that make fast work of a pile of cobs, but otherwise yeah, just grab the cob and twist like you're wringing out a cloth. Apparently the crank ones are still being made and can be purchased online for around 50 bucks...not sure of the quality of those, but that seems to be the general price point. You might find an antique one for cheaper that's probably better made if you look around.

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." ~ Tolkien

R Overman

Posts: 15

posted 2 weeks ago

10
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Thumbs over a five gallon bucket do quite a good job. More thumbs is better 😂. 👍🏽

IMG_3777.jpeg

Christopher Weeks

master gardener

Posts: 6428

Location: Carlton County, Minnesota, USA: 3b; Dfb; sandy loam; in the woods

3877

I like...

posted 2 weeks ago

7
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

The drier the better! I just grip and twist. I've never had more than 100 or so cobs to shell so it wasn't that much work. I've seen several tools that amount to nails driven into a tube for making it easier and hope to need one someday.

PEP - BB100 Badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by gir bot

Andre Wiederkehr

Posts: 37

posted 2 weeks ago

6
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I have made and used a wooden version of Burra's corn sheller. It takes a scant hour to make, and works really well. My family has shelled thousands of cobs this way over the past few years. The + shape tapers from one end to the other. Leaving a short non-tapered section on the small end lets me sharpen the corners again whenever they get really dull. When it's too worn down to sharpen it again, just chuck it in the wood stove and carve a new one.

I wrote an article that describes the process here.

cascade-ruby-gold-flint-corn-with-corn-sheller-W.JPG

Josh Warfield

Posts: 101

Location: Egnar, CO -- zone 5ish, semi-arid, high elevation

I like...

posted 2 weeks ago

5
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Something I saw in a video, which I can't find right now, but I think just describing it will be clear enough. Take a scrap piece of PVC pipe or similar, just big enough to fit the whole cob with kernels on it. Put a bunch of screws in the sides, sticking into the middle just far enough that the cob can fit in between the tips of the screws but the kernels won't. Stick the cob through and twist.

If you want to try homesteading/permaculture/whatever-you-wanna-call-it, and the only thing stopping you is the price tag on land, PM me. I have more space than I need and I'm willing to share

if you think brussel sprouts are yummy, you should try any other food. And this tiny ad:

Rocket mass heaters in greenhouses can be tricky - these plans make them easy: Wet Tolerant Rocket Mass Heater in a Greenhouse Plans