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. You can also easily adjust the flavor.

Vegetables to Avoid When Making Vegetables Stock

Starchy vegetables like potatoes and turnips will make for a gummy, cloudy vegetable stock. Beets overpower their aromatic counterparts. Zucchini and greens beans become bitter when slowly simmered for as long it takes to make this 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!)

It's unbelievably easy and cheap, and it tastes SO much better than any broth you'd find at the store. Don't worry – I'll never blame you for reaching for store bought broth when that's the most convenient option (I still use it sometimes too!).

Broth. Beef broth, chicken broth, vegetable broth, or broth-based soups are other great food to help constipation.

VEGETABLE STOCK. Vegetable broth and vegetable stock may go by different names, but they're ultimately interchangeable terms for the same culinary staple. Both vegetable broth and stock are made by boiling vegetables, herbs and aromatics to form a liquid base.

Um, as you're cooking with stock, the the vegetable, the vegetables will release the nutrients and the flavor into the water and what you're left, um, what you're left to it is just kind of a mushy vegetable. It doesn't have a lot of taste.

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!

What not to put in homemade broth? ›

Foods in the Brassica family, such as collards, are too strong for stock/broth and can impart a bitter taste. Corn doesn't add a lot of flavor and can make the stock/broth cloudy. Excellent for making stock/broth. Avoid bitter greens and members of the brassica family (kale, cabbage, Bok Choy).

Celery leaves are delicious, nutritious, and packed with intense celery flavor. Prep them like you would any herb: minced, coarsely chopped, or left in their true, whole-leaf form. Toss the tender leaves with salad greens and vinaigrette. Throw them into stir-fries, stocks, soups, and sauces.

NOTE: Avoid cruciferous veggies like cabbage or brussels sprouts as they can result in a bitter stock. Other fun ingredients to add: Fresh herbs like thyme and parsley are lovely in stock but be careful of intense/woody herbs like rosemary as they can overpower it.

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.

It has always struck me as a huge waste to compost the spent veg, though, so I always try to find a way to eat them. Mashed up with olive oil or butter, say, they make a lovely side dish, or turn them into curries, soups and stews.

Full of nutritional benefits, homemade veggie broth is made with a variety of vegetables, including their leaves and stems, full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Minimal hands-on time. Once the ingredients are added to a pot, you simply simmer for an hour!

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.

Homemade stock adds a depth of flavour and richness to dishes such as soups, stews and sauces that's hard to match in shop-bought varieties. It's healthier, too, because shop-bought stock cubes tend to be higher in salt and may contain artificial ingredients.