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grains and pseudograins

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

pollinator

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Location: Zone 10a, Australia

posted 3 weeks ago

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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?

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Burra Maluca

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posted 3 weeks ago

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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

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Joao Winckler

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posted 3 weeks ago

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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.

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Joylynn Hardesty

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posted 3 weeks ago

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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.

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Anne Miller

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posted 3 weeks ago

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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.

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Nicola Bludau

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Location: Zone 10a, Australia

posted 3 weeks ago

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

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Nicola Bludau

pollinator

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Location: Zone 10a, Australia

posted 3 weeks ago

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

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Doug McEvers

Posts: 89

posted 3 weeks ago

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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

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posted 3 weeks ago

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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

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Location: Upper Midwest - 4b

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posted 2 weeks ago

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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.

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R Overman

Posts: 15

posted 2 weeks ago

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

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Christopher Weeks

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posted 2 weeks ago

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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.

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Andre Wiederkehr

Posts: 37

posted 2 weeks ago

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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

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

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posted 2 weeks ago

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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.

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