Most of us greet the arrival of local corn at farm stands and markets with great excitement and visions of melted butter, sea salt, and perhaps a squeeze of fresh lime.
No summer picnic supper is complete without at least two ears each—pretty please! Traditional Chinese Medicine is not so interested in the sweet kernels —salt and pepper or silver queen—but rather the soft silk that lies between husk and cob.
This silk (Yu Mi Xu in TCM jargon) appears in the materia medica—group together with herbs that drain dampness—dampness being a pathological condition that blocks the functional activity of chi and therefore directly linked to various illnesses and disease. Corn silk is neutral in temperature, sweet in flavor, and targets the bladder, gallbladder and liver and is primarily used to address urinary discomfort or disorders. However, it also works to detoxify the liver (and simultaneously placate the gallbladder) making corn silk tea a potent post summer holiday—complete with late nights and general debauchery—remedy.
To make tea—bring 2 to 3 cups of water to a boil and steep the silk of 1 to 2 ears of corn for 5 minutes. Drain and serve.
Frances Boswell is a licensed acupuncturist at her practice, Qi Sera Sera Acupuncture, in New York City. She focuses on a lesser-known branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which identifies poor diet as a common cause of disease. Traditional Chinese Medicine understands that the importance of food goes beyond ingredients' vitamins, mineral, nutrient, and caloric content—food has its own energetic and spiritual role in our health. Frances's aim is to teach this ancient wisdom, apply it to everyday cooking, and work with patients to modify their diets, in addition to acupuncture, to help them live, eat, and be well. Contact Frances here.
From: Today: Summer was meant for salads. « | 8/12/11 at 7:32 pm
[...] Corn silk tea? [...]
From: Corn Silk Char | Writing Without Pay | 12/23/11 at 10:40 am
[...] end up in the compost, where all inedible vegetable peelings go to die. Until I stumbled across this article on Flipboard. Wait – what? You can make tea from this stuff? And it’s beneficial as a [...]
From: JuniperGirl | 4/25/12 at 5:53 am
NOW I find this info! Our corn season is over! Can't wait to grow more corn and try this!
From: 6/27 – Summertime fruits and veggies!! « thoughtful consumption | 6/29/12 at 10:51 am
[...] The corn is gone already. We cook ears like this in the microwave (2 ears for 2 x 2 minutes). Let them cool and then shuck. Save the corn silk for tea! [...]
From: shari k. | 8/10/12 at 10:38 am
This is new to me. A friend ordered a pound of this tea...told me about it's benefits, but has no idea as to how to fix it. No directions came with the bundle of dried corn silk. Can you help? shari k.
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