Making Vegetable Broth

Composting our vegetable scraps is a great idea. Remember to save some of them for making stock or broth. There is a difference between vegetable stock and vegetable broth.  A broth is a seasoned ingredient or stand-alone dish. A broth is eaten on its own or used to build soups or sauces. A stock is and ingredient, still in need of seasoning. A stock is used as a building block for soups or sauces. 

vegetable broth oomph

We eat a lot of vegetables in our house so I am always saving bits and pieces in my freezer for later.  I save trimmed, peeled and rinsed vegetables that are healthy and not spoiled (no moldy oldies!).  The best vegetables to save are onions, carrots, celery (tops too!), mushrooms, parsnips, fennel, potatoes, parsley, cilantro, other herbs, garlic and scallions. I also like to reserve a few onion skins to give my broth a rich brown flavor. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels and cabbage are less yummy in a broth but I do sometimes add green cabbage, because I love it.  Also, beets and red cabbage will create a pinkish color so skip those. 

I keep a big Ziploc bag in our freezer and just add vegetable scraps until it is full, usually 4c. - 6c. then I know it is time for broth.

Making the Vegetable Broth

1. Rinse your trimmed, peeled frozen vegetables.

2. Chop them into about 1" pieces, large chop.

3. In a stock pot add oil ( we like EVOO) over medium heat until it is shimmering.

4. Add the root vegetables like carrots and parsnips, add onions, celery and garlic to sauté until lightly browned, about 5-6min.

5. Add the remaining vegetables and cover with water. 

6. Cook over medium-high heat for 30 min. - 1hr.

7. Add salt, pepper to taste.

7. Cool about 15 min. then strain and serve.

ADDING OOMPH: If you like you can add Oomph to boost flavor and nutrition in your broth. There are two ways to add Oomph, you can either add a few tsp. or so mid-way through cooking your vegetables OR after you strain the broth, if you don't mind a little fine texture. You can either gently heat the strained and Oomphed broth or if it is still warm it will rehydrate quickly if you cover it for about 5min.  

I would love to hear YOUR FAVORITE VEGETABLES to save for stock or broth and if you add Oomph, let us know!

Eat Well. Be Well!

 

 


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