Do you pay $3/quart for vegetable broth at the supermarket? Ever wondered how to make your own?
Most basic recipes I’ve seen involve an onion, maybe a garlic clove or two, a carrot, a stalk of celery, maybe a few handfuls of fresh parsley, a little salt and pepper, and a big pot of water. Really, though, you can make broth out of just about any vegetable. (Okay, fennel was a little weird when I tried it, but most things work. I especially recommend the addition of leeks, thyme, parsnips, and/or dried mushrooms.) And there are SO many reasons to make your own vegetable broth. Here are the top 3….
1. COST
It’s cheap and you can use what’s around.
Whenever I’m preparing vegetables for a dish, chances are there are scraps (peels, bits that look a little funny but aren’t spoiled, ends of things, tougher stalks). More often than not they wind up in a Ziploc baggie in my freezer. When I need broth, I just toss a bagful into water with a few peppercorns, a bay leaf, and a few pinches of salt. What better way to make the most out of your veggies (especially if you’re paying a pretty penny for organic produce at the farmers’ market)? I’ve even saved water from boiling or steaming beets, asparagus, and corn as a base for broth. (Actually, corn cobs simmering in soups release cornstarch – a natural thickener.)
2. EASE
It’s a piece of cake.
Dump everything into a pot, simmer for half an hour, or even a few hours, strain the solid veggies and any herbs floating around, and you’ve got a fabulous, nutritious base for soups, stews, even risotto. Toss containers of broth in the freezer for months until you need them.
3. CONSERVATION
Yep, when you make broth, you’re recycling!
Many folks – most, in fact – are less obsessed with food waste than I am. I hate wasting food to an almost pathological degree. I have an outdoor compost bin and an under-the-sink worm bin. I have been known to pack out my food scraps from the homes of friends and relatives for the aforementioned compost bins. Really, the broth making is just an intermediary – but delicious – step that the vegetables take on the way to one of these compost bins.
So now you know the basics. Let the broth-making begin!
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