Homemade Vegetable Broth
People are interested in cooking again! We are also paying attention to the fact that we can’t always get what we want at the store, which gives us an opportunity to look at how we can do things on our own.
This post and recipe is here to inspire your creativity and encourage you not to throw those veggie trimmings away! Why pay for vegetable broth when you can make your own!
When you get your Healthy Harvest Box, it’s a good idea to dedicate some time to trim the leaves away and store your produce properly. This serves two purposes; 1) some things last longer if you remove the tops (root vegetables like carrots and beets) and 2) you’ll save time on your meal prep.
If you give everything a bath – including the tops – then you can take the trimmings and create your own broth for use in soups or just to sip throughout the day.
Create a dedicated container or a ZIP lock bag that you can collect trimmings until it’s full. Then put everything in a large pot on the stove or in an InstantPot, cook, strain and put into jars to store for 3-5 days or you can freeze it to extend the shelf life.
Homemade Vegetable Broth
Suggestions: Celery tops and the very inner core, tips and tops from Carrots, trimmings from broccoli, the core from a cauliflower, fennel tops, onion skins, top and bottoms, outer cabbage leaves, turnip greens, beet greens, potato and carrot peels, garlic skins. Note: If you use a lot of greens your broth will be a little green too. Depending on the recipe or purpose it may not matter, but if you would like to have a more tan colored broth, limit things like beet greens, kale, carrot tops, etc. Also, too many cruciferous (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage) can be a little bit strong and sometimes a little bitter. Red beets will make red broth!
Seasonings: 2 Bay leaves; 1 T. peppercorns, some fresh or dried parsley, rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage, a few cloves of garlic, a tsp. of tumeric, use your favorites!
Additions: Mushrooms add a nice savory flavor and make a darker, richer broth
How much: A one gallon ZIP lock bag filled works nicely for a batch.
InstantPot Methods:
1 – (Easiest) Pour the vegetable scraps in and fill to just below fill line with water. Add seasonings and set to 50 minutes on manual.
2 – (More Effort but produces a nice rich color and slightly more intense flavor) Put a little olive oil in the bottom and turn on Saute mode and brown the onion, garlic, carrots and mushrooms (if using). Cook for about 5 minutes on medium. Add the rest of the veggie scraps and continue stirring until browned vegetables are well combined. Add water and seasonings and cook for 40 minutes on manual.
Manual or quick release – it’s up to you!
Stock Pot (6-quart) on the stove:
You can use the same above methods, just bring to a boil first, reduce heat to medium low increase cook time to about 1 hour.
Strain out the solids with a colander and put in mason jars or other containers to store.
Note: My dog loves the solids, I just make sure to take out the spices – except for the parsley – and I chop up the carrots/tops, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, parsley and he gets that with a little kibble. Obviously avoid things that your dog doesn’t like or may be known to cause tummy upset. Garlic and onion are controversial, so do your research or check with your vet if you have questions but most veggies are OK for dogs and they love them too!
Posted by the Culinary Fairy