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

FAQs

No Fail Vegetable Stock Recipe - Going Zero Waste? ›

vegetable stock from scraps

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.

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.

Avoid bitter greens and members of the brassica family (kale, cabbage, Bok Choy). Other greens can be used in small quantities. Good in small quantities (no more than 1/5 of the stock ingredients). Foods in the Brassica family, such as kohlrabi, are too strong for stock/broth and can impart a bitter 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!

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.

Mushrooms (optional): Add mushrooms to give the stock a deeper, richer flavor. Apple or pear (optional): Adding these will bring in a slightly sweet balance of flavor. Tomato (optional): Can be added for just a touch of tanginess!

▶ Cabbage. Cabbage is too strong for stock and broth and can add a bitter taste. ▶ Collard greens. Collards are too strong for stock and broth and can add a bitter taste.

MISTAKE #1: TOO HOT IN HERE

The hotter you cook the stock, the faster you convert collagen into gelatin. Cooking low and slow gives you good conversion while preventing fat, minerals and other gunk from emulsifying into your stock. Boiled stock will be cloudy, greasy and have a lower yield.

Stock is generally made from bones, and broth is generally made from flesh. In both cases, they are often supported with aromatic vegetables, but in the case of stock, left unseasoned for maximum flexibility in recipes, whereas broth will usually contain at least salt and pepper.

How can I improve my vegetable stock? ›

Add bright, fresh flavor to vegetable broth

To brighten any soup, stock, or broth, a splash of lemon juice or vinegar is always a good idea. A splash of white wine is never a bad thing either, but stay away from anything too oak-y, and simmer the broth for a few minutes to give the wine a chance to get comfortable.

You can add in chicken or beef bones to make a rich, umami-packed homemade meat stock, something that can be the backbone of any soup or braised dish you make. If you don't have bones or don't eat meat, no fear — the onion and garlic skins alone make a wonderful, flavorful vegetable stock.

Viviane's tips. The vegetables should be cut in small pieces (1/2″ to 1″ pieces) so that they render their flavor more easily. The stock should not simmer for more than 45 minutes. In that time the vegetables have given all their flavor to the water.

Sorrel, lovage, bay leaves, chervil, marjoram, rosemary, tarragon and fenugreek as well as cardamom, ginger, pepper, paprika, agrimony and thyme tend to introduce a bitter taste. And it could also be a timing issue, when adding certain herbs too soon.

Avoid adding salt if reducing the stock later. For brown stocks, caramelize the ingredients for added color, flavor and complexity. This can be done for any type of stock including meats, poultry, fish and vegetable. Always start with cold water.

NEVER BOIL STOCK

Allowing the water to boil will dissolve the impurities you're supposed to be skimming back into the stock, muddying its clarity and flavor. Not only that, but the energetic movement of the water will actually break minute pieces of your ingredients off and cast them adrift, further clouding things.

There isn't anything that is necessarily "bad" or should always be avoided in stock, but some ingredients have qualities you won't always want. Dark greens (spinach, kale, etc) can make a stock bitter and of course greenish in color. Cabbage also can impart a overwhelming bitterness.