Stock (or broth, bouillon) is the bedrock of soups. A well-made stock provides nourishment at an economical price when made from leftover bones, vegetables, and herbs.
Homemade stocks tend to taste superior when compared to cubes or powdered bouillon and can save money by using scraps like leeks, onions, and carrot tops as ingredients.
Vegetables
Homemade vegetable stock provides essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Plus, its flavorful depth adds depth of character that cannot be achieved with commercially produced broths. Make an easy and delicious vegetable soup using just vegetables, trimmings, and meat bones from leftover cuts of meat or scraps from animals that have died naturally. Also excellent at using up imperfect produce or any remaining cloves from garlic heads! Chopping vegetables and herbs into smaller pieces to increase surface area will allow them to impart more of their flavors into your stock. Cold water should always be used when making reserve as hot or warm temperatures may cloud it up and cause too much liquid released from vegetables and herbs at once. This allows their flavor to slowly release without breaking down or producing excessive liquid release.
Avoid foods from the Brassica family (such as cabbage, kohlrabi, and kale) as well as bitter greens, as these tend to impart too strong of an aroma and flavor when used for stock-making, creating an unpleasant bitter aftertaste. Most lettuce varieties should also be avoided.
Good Stock makes it simple to add dimension to any bowl of soup with its easy tips for improving store-bought and homemade broths alike.
Good Stock’s team carefully selects top-quality ingredients from local markets before cooking them to perfection with love. Once packaged in frozen bags for customers to easily consume this nutritious soup made with care, Good Stock first launched at Smorgasburg outdoor food market in NYC and quickly expanded into an innovative service providing soup to everyone in need.
Bones
Bone broth is a nutritious broth created by simmering meaty animal bones with aromatic vegetables, herbs, and spices to produce a gelatinous mass that provides plenty of calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, Vitamin A, and K2, among many other essential minerals and vitamins. Research suggests that protein contained in bone broth helps heal and maintain a healthy digestive tract.
When making stock, use meaty bones from pasture-raised animals for optimal flavor. Season and roast the bones prior to adding them to the pot for maximum umami effect. You could even add ham or rib bones for additional umami-richness!
Aromatic vegetables such as onions, carrots, and celery give stock its distinctive depth of flavor. For best results, the veggies should be cut proportionately to their cooking time (beef stocks typically require 6-8 hours to be fully prepared), as well as herbs and spices such as parsley, thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns that strain more easily from whole spices than dried varieties; dried spices should first be rubbed between palms of hands in order to release oils before being added to soup or stock.
Once the stock is cooked, remove it from heat and allow it to cool before proceeding with further steps. After chilling, skim any fat off of the surface of the broth before straining to allow solids back into your pot – once this step has been completed, your collagen-rich broth can be stored for three days in your refrigerator or frozen for up to three months! Use as an ingredient base in soups, stews, and other recipes or simply drink as a hydrating drink – its healthful properties make this collagen-rich broth perfect for restorative benefits!
Herbs
Soup broth, whether from a carton or homemade, tends to lack much in terms of flavor. Sure, it beats drinking plain water directly out of a bottle, but adding herbs can take it beyond just being bland.
Herbs and spices can add depth of flavor to your stock. When selecting whole spices like peppercorns or bay leaves (because powdered ones won’t strain out as quickly), make sure that their essences come through fully; when it comes to fresh herbs, try using thyme or parsley as these will release all their stuff while with dried ones consider using sage or rosemary as they will release those flavor profiles further.
Making stock is an effective way to reduce food waste while extracting maximum flavor from vegetables and trimmings that would otherwise go to waste. Cheese rinds (though their bitter taste might alter your broth’s overall taste), cauliflower stems, leeks, and onion skins all work great when used to create this delicious broth! However, make sure any solid or overwhelming vegetables such as Brussels sprouts or cauliflower do not overpower its overall taste and leave an aftertaste that could ruin its flavor in this case.
Once the soup has finished simmering, remove any meat pieces or bones from the pot before straining using a colander to extract aromatics from its stock and transferring it to a bowl or large pot for pulling. Your finished seasoned stock should last in the refrigerator for up to one week or can even be frozen up to three months for more extended storage!
When you’re ready to reheat, defrost in the refrigerator overnight before warming over the stove top until thoroughly warmed through.
Spices
Soup broth, whether packaged or homemade, can often be dull in both taste and mouthfeel. But it can still add great depth of flavor when given some attention! Here are three simple strategies you can try to add more excitement and flair to your soup broth dish.
An addition of herbs and spices can really elevate a stock recipe. Both dried and fresh varieties are suitable, though dried herbs such as thyme, bay leaves, or peppercorns tend to enhance rather than overpower its flavor. Fresh parsley sprigs or cilantro add freshness, while leeks, fennel (for an earthy sweetness and subtle licorice taste), or ginger offer great citrusy notes.
As part of the cooking process, you must know exactly how much water to add. A ratio of two parts onion, one part celery, and one part carrots has often been suggested as the optimal vegetable-to-water ratio for chicken or veggie stocks.
Once a stock is finished simmering, it should be strained to separate bones, vegetables, and herbs as well, as skimming any fat or scum that rises to the top during this process. Once cool enough for storage jars to be made up, cooling should occur within hours after straining to preserve freshness of taste and aroma.
Water
Soup broth can be more than the plain, watery glop you find in a box: it can add depth and richness of flavor to soups, stews, gravies, sauces and braises, as well as be used as the liquid component in making risottos. No matter whether homemade or packaged broth, its potential can be enhanced through some simple techniques and ingredients.
Stock is made by simmering animal bones and vegetables over an extended period, typically 4-6 hours, to extract collagen for rich mouthfeel and buttery quality. Sometimes, it may also include seasoning like vinegar, wine, or soy sauce to enhance flavor and add depth of flavor.
When making stock, always use cold water – hot water can disintegrate vegetables and cloud your broth, creating less flavor. Chopping veggies into larger pieces increases their surface area for more excellent flavor development, and avoid stirring as this allows the ingredients to cook unimpeded.
To add depth and richness to your broth, roast meat, vegetables and bones before combining them in water. Roasting adds rich flavors that basic white stock simply cannot match.
To store broth, place the strained pot of stock in either the refrigerator or freezer until it has completely cooled down. As it cools, a layer of gelatinous fat may form on top, which serves to preserve and scoop off easily when freezing for storage purposes. Once chilled, pour into 1-quart glass storage containers like Mason jars for months of cooling in either your refrigerator or freezer.
