Have you ever made your own vegetable broth? If not, I've got you. While there are many recipes out there on the web that call for beautiful fresh ingredients and taste absolutely incredible, here is my zero waste vegetable broth.
This takes such little effort you will never buy broth again.
REASONS TO MAKE YOUR OWN
1. Reduces waste - no more cardboard boxes filling up the landfill.
- Or aluminum toxicity from those lovely cans.
2. You can pronounce everything it has in it.
- Store bought broth can contain unnatural thickeners, yeast extract and natural flavors. The last two
are actually MSG (monosodium glutamate), which is a neurotoxin. Yes, you read that right. It acts
as a toxin to our nerves and can radically change our internal processes.
3. You can use up all your vegetable scraps!
- You don't even have to go out and buy ingredients to make this. Just use up the ends of celery,
carrots, onions and garlic that is too small to mince. All the outside husks of onions and garlic,
mushroom stems, leftover herbs or the stems, pepper tops, potato peels, etc. You are giving all
your food anotheR purpose. How incredible is that?
4. It is super easy!
- Save scraps, dump, add water and simmer.
5. Cost effective!!
HOW?!
DIRECTIONS
1. Keep a gallon freezer bag in your freezer and add your vegetable scraps as you have them.
- Some of you will be making it frequently (~ couple times per month) and some not so frequently. If
it takes forever to fill your bag up, I recommend eating more vegetables. 😜
2. Once your bag is full, add all ingredients to an instant pot.
- A crockpot would do the trick too, or a stove pot. Just make sure if you use one of these, you are
checking the liquid level occasionally as water steams out of them. I like the instant pot because you
can seal it up and leave it alone and not worry.
3. Add water to just below the top of the vegetables.
- About x cups.
4. If you want to make it fancy and have the ingredients on hand, I love to add a fresh celery stalk, a fresh
carrot and a some form of tomato (sauce, diced, paste).
- If you don't have these things on hand, don't worry, it will still be great.
5. Add some salt.
- I like to add 1 teaspoon, but feel free to keep it salt free. You will just want to make sure to salt your
soups when you make them.
6. Put the lid on your instant pot and slow cook for three hours with the vent sealed.
7. Once it is finished, pour contents through a mesh strainer into a large mixing bowl.
8. Disperse the liquid to containers for storage.
- I am able to fill 2-3 quart sized mason jars. Make sure to leave some room in the jar for expansion.
- Freeze the leftover liquid in ice cube trays. I use the frozen cubes to sauté, reconstitute leftovers,
melt and use to roast potatoes and vegetables, etc.
- Broth will keep in the freezer for six months or the fridge for five days.
- To thaw, place in large mixing bowl with cool or room temperature water. (You don't want to crack
the glass.) You can increase the water temperature as it adjusts. Once it can be removed from the
jar, feel free to toss it in your dish. It will melt the rest of the way on the stove.
NOTES
- Your vegetable broth will turn out different every time due to the content of the vegetables within,
which is pretty fun.
- While I love making broth out of fresh ingredients, this is such a low maintenance, zero waste
alternative for when you don't have the time to spend in the kitchen.