In this post, we will learn how to make corn silk tea and why you should drink it. It is super easy to make, it’s another way to use corn, and it’s very healthy for our body. We’ll go over the health benefits and how to dry the silk and how to make corn silk tea.
We pretty much live in corn country here in central NC. Local farmers sell 12 ears of corn at the market for $4. It’s so affordable it almost doesn’t make sense to grow it yourself (the benefit of growing it yourself, of course, is the fun of watching it grow and the fact that you know for sure that it’s organic).
We eat so much of it every summer, and every summer I dry the silk and use it for corn silk tea.
It’s really cool how useful corn is. We use the husk for art (the kids make dolls and such), the silk for “corn hair tea” (as my kids call it), the corn as food, we give the cob to the chickens as a snack., and I leave the plant in the garden as mulch. We use every bit of it!
How to Make Corn Silk Tea…
What is Corn Silk?
Corn silk is the “hair” that you find under the husk of the corn. The stringy stuff can be used fresh or dried (I’ll show you how I dry it in a minute). It will change its color and darken a little bit if you decide to dry it but it will hold for a long long time.
Corn Silk Tea Benefits…
Corn silk is high in potassium, therefore, has a diuretic effect on the urinary system. In other words, it promotes the production of urine which means it makes you pee, a lot.
Corn silk will also help prevent kidney stones and is useful with other urinary problems like nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys), cystitis (urinary tract infection), and prostatitis (swelling and inflammation of the prostate gland).
Corn silk is also known to reduce water retention in the body and may be beneficial in treating high blood pressure and gouty arthritis (uric acid builds up in the blood and causes inflammation in the joints).
HERE is a good research for further learning.
Another research shows that corn silk tea can be used to treat metabolic syndrome and assist is weight loss…
“Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a very common medical problem worldwide. It includes obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and abnormal levels of triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. It is closely associated with insulin resistance and may lead to diabetes mellitus, liver diseases, or cardiovascular diseases. Corn silk (CS), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been reported to have multiple beneficial effects, including hypotensive, anti-diabetic, and hypolipidemic properties. This suggests that corn silk could be used to treat or prevent metabolic syndrome.”
You can read the research HERE.
A Simple Corn Silk Tea Recipe…
The first thing to do would be to remove the husk…
Then, I gently remove the silk from the corn.
In the picture of the corn silk tea above, you can see the dry brown part that wasn’t covered by the husk, go ahead and cut that off.
Place the silk on a paper towel on the kitchen counter. You want to keep it at room temperature. This amount of silk is from five or six ears of corn.
Within a few days, it will dry. During those days, if you remember, turn it a couple of times.
That’s it! It is now ready for tea. Someone asked me why not using it fresh… You probably can but I think that it’s nicer to handle it when it’s dry. Also, by drying it you preserve it for later too. I place my dry silk in a jar or in a zip-lock bag and it lasts all the way to next summer.
When you are ready to make a cup of tea, grab a little bit of the silk…
Add it to your mug…
Add some honey or sugar…
Then add boiling water and let it sit in the hot water for a few minutes.
If you chose, you can leave the silk in the mug or remove it before you drink your tea. I usually leave it.
So, of course, it tastes like… Corn. It’s not bad, the taste is very mild but still… If you find that you don’t like it much you can simply add a tea bag like one of those berry tea bags or orange or whatever. I usually add a few mint leaves to my tea.
Five minutes after you drink it you’ll be visiting the potty. Then you’ll feel like you didn’t have a drink in two weeks so you’ll run to your kitchen and gulp down a big glass of water. It works fast!
Share your thoughts with me in the comments below! If you’ve had corn silk tea, did you like it?
For more homemade remedies, check out these posts…
47 Ways to Prevent and Treat Chigger Bites
Licorice Tea, What Is It, How to Make it, and Why Drink It
How to Get Rid of UTI Without Antibiotics
Hi! I’m Lady Lee. I help homesteaders simplify their homesteading journey while still producing a ton of food! I am a single mother of four, I was born in Israel and raised in an agricultural commune called a Kibbutz. Now I homestead in central NC.
Yes! Heard about it few months ago but did not start using it till a day ago. I know the health benefits of corn silk is magnificent…. Great post and thanks for sharing.
I had forgotten about this tea! I’ve just been put on water pills by the dr. Ugh. I’m more inclined to try homeopathic, herbal, natural ways of dealing with water retention. I’m thinking I’ll add the tea to my diet and wean off the pills if it seems to be helping. What a “fun” project for the boys when I bring home the corn on the cob! Haha! My one son is a corn lover almost as much if not more than his mama!!
I also let my kids do it! They love sitting on the kitchen floor and pealing the corn. They use the husk to make dolls.
Wow. Never heard of corn silk tea. But had some in the freezer cause a friend asked me to save it for hee. Guess what she not getting it now…lol. I making tea right now…great post and THANK YOU FOR SHARING.
LOL. You are welcome!
Thanks for this post.
It is educating
You are welcome!
I put cornsilk in the oven to dry and forgot about it! It’s All brown…I’m still going to make tea from it…is that OK? Thank you!
Hi Sandra, sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner!
Did you use it? Was it ok?
I would think that maybe it would fall apart in the hot water…
I love this. How long can one use it in terms of prostate enlargement? Is it compulsory to add the leave where its not available? How many times a day in case of prostate, kidney stone and others? Is fresh corn silk not medicinal too? If yes, how do you prepare that?
Plse I am on prostate enlargement treatment now and had previously undergone kidney stone operation as such your reply will be of great importance to me.
Thanks
I think it’s one of those things that you just get used to doing and keep doing it. I can’t tell you you have to drink three cups a day for a month and you’ll be fine. In order to support your health, you have to just get used to drinking it a few times a day. This is why we dry it, so I can keep it for the whole year.
Fresh corn silk will probably be beneficial too but the taste of corn might be too strong. When you dry it you almost can’t taste the corn anymore.
You don’t have to use the leaves, you can add it to any regular tea or just make it by itself.
I hope this helps.
Hi, may I ask how you dry the corn silk? Just place it on the kitchen towel? Can I wrap it up with the kitchen towel and wait for it dry?
Don’t wrap it up. Just lay it on a paper towel or a newspaper and place it on the counter. It will dry in a few days, then you can put it in a jar or ziplock bag.
Corn silk tea is a gods send for those of us who suffer interstitial cystitis. Its the only thing that eased my discomfort and pain.
I love your work and all the things you do to keep a healthy life. I would have loved to work with you but I don’t have money to invest in your company. I really need to work in my health I have a big potbelly and I am fat I want to work in my health so that I will come down and look younger am just 40 years.thanks.
You can do it. make a plan and stick to it. Just sit down and decide on a plan that you know is not too hard for you to actually stay with. Good luck!
I had no idea! My kids will be thrilled, as they love messing around with the silk when I make them husk corn and they also love messing with tea in the kitchen. Once the silk is dry, I assume I can put it in a jar or tea tin and keep it for months?
Yep. I put it in a zip-lock bag and keep it in my tea cabinet. I am still using silk from last year. lasts forever. Thanks for stopping by!
Can you use a dehydrater? If so how much time?
I am sure you can but Ii never used one so I can’t tell you how much time. You’ll have to check it once in a while. You’ll see when the silk is dry.
I’ve never tried this but I think I will give it a try.
Oh my goodness I have never heard of this. Great post! Watch for your feature on Monday. Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop xo
Thank you!
I wow, I had no idea! Good to know, pinning to my ‘health’ board. Thank you!
I really enjoyed this post! Thank you!
Thanks for visiting!
I love corn silk tea! I always save the silk from the sweet corn we eat and preserve. It is a delicious, nutritious and free! Can’t beat that!
Agree and agree.
Years ago corn silk tea (Stigmata maidis) was in fashion in our pharmacy für “slimming”, people believing that they lose weight by urinating more….If you drink this tea instead of eating a snack that could help to reduce body mass but not more can be exspected.
I read your blog with interest,please go on
Angela
pharmacist from Germany
Isn’t it known that drinking a lot (water, tea etc…) helps with weight lose? My mother is a Weight Watchers instructor and this is part of their teaching. Thanks for visiting.