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This sweet and fragrant Corn Silk Tea is a 1-ingredient drink that takes five minutes and is a great (and delicious) way to reduce food waste!
What is Corn Silk Tea?
Corn silk tea is an incredible, easy-to-make tea with medicinal properties! It’s enjoyed all across Asia and even sold in bottles at many Asian grocery stores. But it’s also very easy to make at home and it’s a wonderful way to reduce food waste in your home kitchen.
What Does Corn Silk Tea Taste Like?
The flavour of this one-ingredient tea is mild, toasty, with notes of corn (of course). You can enjoy it either iced or hot. Some bottled varieties are also flavoured with toasted rice and corn. When you make your own, you can add anything you’d like! For sweetness, try adding a touch of maple syrup.
What do you Need?
All you need to make this super simple tea is one ingredient: corn silk. Start with an ear of fresh corn, still in its husk.
Bonus tip: it’s best to buy corn in the husk anyway as it will keep your corn fresher longer.
How to Make Corn Silk Tea
Start by trimming off any browning/dead ends. If you like, you can then dry out the silk by leaving it out for a few days. After that, you can use the silk immediately or store in a container for 3 to 4 days.
When you’re ready to brew the tea, simply add the corn silk to a mug and cover it with hot water. Let it steep for 5 minutes.
Another option is to boil the corn silk directly in water for 5 min. Then strain and enjoy.
How Much Corn Silk do I Need?
The more corn silk you use, the more flavourful your tea will be. I like to use the silk from about 4-5 ears of corn to make 2-3 cups of tea.
Medicinal Uses
This tea is traditionally used in Chinese medicine to treat urinary tract infections. It’s a mild diuretic and can also aid digestion. Plus, it’s totally caffeine-free!
Flavor Suggestions
To flavour your homemade corn silk tea, you can mix other teas, such as earl grey or green tea. It’s a mild flavour that’s easy to cover!
Remove the corn silk from your corn husk and trim off any dead or exposed ends.
If you’d like to dry your corn silk out, spread it out on a tray and let sit in the sun until dry to the touch. This step is optional but you can save dry corn silk for future tea!
When ready to brew, add corn silk into a mug directly or large bowl and pour hot water over it. Let steep for 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can add water and the silk to a pot and boil for 5-8 minutes.
Hi there, I’m Remy! Welcome to Veggiekins Blog, home to nourishing vegan + gluten-free recipes and tips to live your best balanced and holistic life. I’m a human on a mission to empower you to be well and be kind to your mind, body and soul with the healing power of plants.
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