No Fail Vegetable Stock Recipe - Going Zero Waste (2024)

FAQs

Is making vegetable stock wasteful? ›

By making your own stock from scraps, you'll save money by using the bits of veggies that you might otherwise discard – plus you know exactly what's gone into your stock.

Remove the tops/bottoms/skins/stems from any vegetables you are preparing (avoid vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or cauliflower as they will add a bitter taste to your stock) and place them in a ziplock bag - they can stay frozen up to 6 months. Note: You can add many other vegetable scraps (think sweet!)

Once the broth is drained, the cooked vegetables can be placed into the compost, and the broth transferred to an airtight container. Store the broth in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Softer vegetables such as potatoes or pumpkin are no good as they break down too easily, creating a cloudy stock. If adding fresh tomatoes, remove the seeds as they can impart a bitter taste. The fresher the vegetables you use for stock, the better the flavour will be.

Vegetables will not have much left to give after being used for stock, you can still eat them but they may not be flavorful or nutritious. Unless you're making a stew you're going to be cooking the stock, then removing the vegetables, then cooking the stock more with other ingredients.

INGREDIENTS TO AVOID IN HOMEMADE VEGETABLE BROTH

This includes: “Flavorless” Vegetables – like zucchini or white potatoes; these aren't going to do anything bad to the broth, but they're not going to help it either. Cruciferous Vegetables – such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and cabbage.

Save those vegetables that may have lost their crunchy appeal for a flavorful veggie stock. Even if stored properly, celery and carrots may become floppy after some time, but don't let them go to the compost. Throw in your onion skins, potato peels, and other veggie scraps from cooking to add more flavor to the mix!

Dark greens (spinach, kale, etc) can make a stock bitter and of course greenish in color. Cabbage also can impart a overwhelming bitterness. Potatoes can cloud a stock from their starchiness, so they are not good when you want clear stock for something like a soup or consomme.

In an 8 quart pot, sauté onions, mushrooms, and celery in a little olive oil for 15 minutes or until lightly carmelized. Add carrots, leeks, garlic, tomato, apple, parsley, bay leaves, basil, peppercorns, salt, dulse flakes and water.

Avoid waxy vegetables (cucumbers), bitter seeds and pits, and beet scraps. Potato skins can add a starchy element, so I tend not to use them. Just remember to get in the habit of washing all vegetables (even the onions) before you peel or de-stem them if you are planning to use them in the broth.

Why can't you boil broth? ›

Just as when you're making stock for soups or stews, boiling will cause soluble proteins and rendered fat to emulsify into the cooking liquid. By simmering, you avoid emulsifying the fat and thus keep the stock clearer, and we found that the scum created simply settled to the bottom of the pot.

Vegetable stock is made with untrimmed, sometimes whole vegetables, while broth is made from trimmed, roughly chopped vegetables. Vegetable stock generally takes longer to cook (at least 2 hours) than broth, which usually cooks for less than 30 minutes.

Onion skins, herb stems, peppercorns, brassicas, bitter greens, and tough celery greens are some of the suspected causes of bitter broth.

Vegetable broth contains iron that helps to stimulate the formation of red blood cells, helping to avoid anemia, increase energy levels, and avoid tiredness. Homemade broth helps to manage body metabolism, optimizing nutrient absorption, and resulting in a lighter feeling.

If you buy vegetable stock, you'll likely get a product with a lot of sodium but not a lot of flavor. By making your own stock, you can control the amount of sodium and create an incredibly flavorful base for soups, stews, risottos, and other dishes that call for stock as the primary cooking liquid.

The answer is that vegetable stock is not a true stock, but it is used in the same way - as a base for other recipes. The only real difference between vegetable stock and vegetable broth is that vegetable stock is kept unseasoned and neutral in flavour, while broth should be well seasoned.

By simply reducing any stock down before storing or freezing it, you will not only concentrate the flavors and thicken the liquid, you will speed up the reduction time later when adding it to a pan sauce or other recipe.