14

We made tamales today, and had a lot of corn husks left over. Any suggestions on how they can be used?

raner
  • 133
  • 6
Mark Stewart
  • 449
  • 4
  • 12
  • 1
    To community members: if you consider voting to close, please make sure you are aware of our [policy on culinary-uses](https://cooking.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/1058/where-do-we-draw-the-line-on-culinary-uses-questions) before making your decision whether to cast a vote. – rumtscho Sep 05 '22 at 06:54
  • 3
    Corn husk dolls or other "crafty" projects (if the use need not be culinary in nature.) – Ecnerwal Sep 05 '22 at 15:03

1 Answers1

22

Options:

Traditional: line the bottom of the tamale steamer basket with them.

Modern: Steam something else in them, like halibut.

Marie Kondo: Compost them.

FuzzyChef
  • 58,085
  • 18
  • 142
  • 218
  • 10
    Do they spark joy @FuzzyChef? – GdD Sep 05 '22 at 07:43
  • 4
    You can use corn husks as a base for smoking. See e.g. [Ottolenghi's smoked corn salad](https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/bourbon-glazed-spare-ribs-with-smoked-corn-salad). – Sanchises Sep 05 '22 at 09:22
  • 1
    I like composting things as my compost turns back into food in the veg garden :-) Husks would also seem to make good earthworm bedding if one has a worm farm. Also, the (cooked then cooled) cobs seem to be a good fattening/multiplying food for them. Websearches should return a few more in and out of kitchen uses, e.g. [https://www.ruralsprout.com/corn-husks/](https://www.ruralsprout.com/corn-husks/). – frIT Sep 05 '22 at 10:19
  • 7
    I compost them, even though I'm not much of a Kondo fan. They spark joy in my compost pile. – Ecnerwal Sep 05 '22 at 15:03
  • 1
    They could be swapped for banana leaves in many applications, wrapping rice or steaming dim sum for example. – GdD Sep 06 '22 at 11:36