Let's Make Homemade Veggie Broth from Food Scraps
Shopping for vegetable broth can be frustrating. Many of them have natural and artificial flavors, sugar added, juice concentrate and other unnecessary ingredients. It can also be expensive! Anywhere from $2-$6 a carton. Making your own at home is easy and essentially free. Let’s dive in!
Collect
Save food scraps as you cook and store in the freezer. I use a Ziploc bag but bonus points for using a glass or silicone container and avoiding the plastic. Be sure to label with the date! Ideal food scraps to collect include carrots (tops, skins etc), celery, onions/leeks/shallots (heads and skins), garlic, herbs about to go bad, bell peppers (seeds and all), greens (spinach, kale ribs etc), mushrooms and for some added umami: parmesan rinds. You can use all fresh and whole versions of this, but its just as effective, and free, if you work with scraps.
Note: don’t get crazy. Anything molding or already spoiled should not be used. Think: scraps and wilting “on-their-way-outs”, not dumpster diving. Also skip cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts etc) as they will make the broth bitter. Starchy veggies (potatoes) might also cloud the water but if that doesn’t bother you, toss in those skins!
Dump it All In
When you have collected about 6 to 7 cups of veggies, you are ready to make the broth! Dump your scraps into a crockpot or dutch oven and cover completely with water. Add in some seasoning: salt (about 1 teaspoons), pepper (About 1 tsp), herbs (as much as you want really)- this is where you can really customize the flavors. Play with peppercorns, bay leaves, fennel seeds- whatever you like and have on hand!
Simmer
Crock pot: put on high for 3-4 hours.
Dutch Oven: Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cover for 1-4 hours. The longer it goes, the better the flavor. But, sometimes time doesn’t allow and an hour will do!
Strain
Use a mesh strainer or colander to strain. You can do this directly into your containers or into a larger one and portion out. I use plastic containers for the freezer but if you do this, allow to cool completely before using. You never want to put hot liquid into a plastic container or you will get chemicals from the plastic leeching into your broth. If you use glass mason jars (again, bonus points) you will want to make sure you don’t fill past the “shoulder” of the class (the widest part right before it tapers up to the spout) or it might burst when freezing. It needs some room for expansion.
Store & Use
Store in the fridge for a week or freeze for up to 4-6 months. Use like you would normal vegetable broths! In soups, enchilada sauce, risotto, stews… any recipe that calls for vegetable or even chicken stock. You will LOVE the flavor too- its so much more rich than what you can get from the store.
And then give yourself a giant pat on the back. You just saved at least $20 on veggie stock using food waste. Woohoo!
