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Carrot peels, celery tops, onion pieces and skins, garlic, tomatoes,
shiitake mushroom stems, nettles, parsley, apple cores, and herbs
Are you cooking at home more than usual? Making meals from scratch (or scratch-ish) more often? Making broth from kitchen scraps is easy as pie (easier, actually). Start collecting your stash today and enjoy a nourishing broth by the weekend!
Don’t throw anything away!
You’ll want to start stashing your kitchen scraps today. We keep ours in the freezer in a gallon bag. When you cook your next meal, toss in the ends of onions and peels from carrots.
REMEMBER!! Everything needs to be washed before storing (we are looking at you, “I’m just gonna peel it so who cares” person). Clean scraps make clean broth!
What veggies are good for broth?
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| Onion papers or skins add tons of flavor |
Onions, carrots, celery, and garlic are mains but there are a ton of other vegetables that can add flavor. Bell pepper, leeks, green onions, mushrooms, celeriac, herb stems, cooking green stems, and apple cores are all great additions.
Fresh herbs, such as thyme, parsley, cilantro and rosemary are all great additions to a broth. Use them fresh or save up the stems and wilted bits.
If you are looking for an extra nourishing result, try adding fresh or dried mushrooms and medicinal herbs. Shiitake mushrooms are widely available and chock full of vitamins and minerals. Nettles and seaweed are packed with nutrition, too. Turmeric, ginger, and cayenne are all warming.
Steamed leftover veggies will work for stock. Oily cooked vegetables will not.
What veggies are not so good for broth?
Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts will cause your brother to taste bitter. Collard greens and kale stems can do the same. You can include these veggies, but do so in a much smaller proportion to the carrots, celery and onion.Tomatoes will add a tomato soup vibe to your broth but won’t overpower unless you use a ton.
Starchy vegetables like potatoes and turnips will make cloudy broth.
Zucchini, summer squash, and green beans haven’t worked for our purposes. Winter squash rinds have worked out okay but make your broth sweeter.
Red beets are overpowering with their color and taste. Golden and Chioggia have worked better but tend to really flavor the broth. If beet flavor is what you’re looking for, you’ll only need a little bit.
Stay away from anything rotten or moldy.
There are a lot more you can include than cannot. The best way to make your stock unique is to experiment with different flavors. We love carrots in ours but learned that collard green stems don’t really work for us. You’ll develop favorite additions over time.
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| Recycle a Bag and save your veggie scraps |
Store those scraps!
Store your scraps in a container in the freezer. We leave ours on the door of the freezer for easy access. This is a great way to reuse a bag. We have stored scraps in bagel bags, disposable clamshells, and takeout containers. Avoid freezer burn by squeezing the air out of the bag before sealing. Avoid using containers that have vents (holes) or do not seal shut.
Continue adding to the bag until it is full enough to fill your largest pot about ⅔ of the way.Broth prep
On broth-making day, gather your scraps and assess what is in there. You can add missing items -- toss in a carrot or full garlic cloves to build the flavor that you’re looking for. You might want to mirror or complement the soup you’ll make later or add herbs that make it sippable alone.
You can gather other flavor-building additions like garlic, shallots, coriander seeds, peppercorns, bay leaves, rosemary and thyme sprigs, medicinal herbs like nettles and more.
You can gather other flavor-building additions like garlic, shallots, coriander seeds, peppercorns, bay leaves, rosemary and thyme sprigs, medicinal herbs like nettles and more.
Broth Tips
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| Colorful Broth Mix |
If your collection doesn’t include the basic carrots, celery, and onion, we suggest adding some fresh ones.
Fill your pot up with enough water to be able to stir the veggies while simmering.
If your water boils off quickly or if you want a deeper flavor, you can add water when the mixture reduces and simmer longer. Sometimes, we leave a pot on the stove for most of the day.
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| Place your bag in a bowl and pour without making a huge mess |
Storing your broth
Measure out broth and store in clearly labeled containers. Quart bags will hold 2 cups. Gallon bags will hold 4 cups. If you use bags, be sure to use the freezer type. They have more trustworthy closures.
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| LABEL, because you will forget what this is |
Jars can store in the fridge for a week or so. Be careful freezing jars. Use wide mouth jars (jar pictured is a small mouth) and do not fill all the way to the top because liquids tend to expand when freezing.
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| Lay Flat to freeze, do not stack until frozen |
Freeze flat to conserve space and for faster thawing. You can also freeze ice cubes! Freeze in ice cube trays, pop the cubes out and bag for later use. One ice cube is generally 2 tablespoons. Two ice cubes is about 1/4 cup.
Broth uses
Use your broth in any recipe that calls for broth or stock. Sip your broth as a nourishing snack or part of a meal. Add your broth as the liquid when cooking rice, gnocchi, and other starches to add flavor.
You’ll need:
Veggie scraps (I wait until I’ve got a gallon bag full)
Water
Herbs, spices, garlic
Large stock pot (I use my 6-qt but you can make do with whatever you have and work in batches)
Slotted spoon or skimmer
Strainer and/or cheesecloth
Storage containers or bags
Add frozen vegetable scraps, herbs, and/or garlic to your pot. Add water. You should have enough water in the pot where you can easily stir the vegetables.
Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a bare simmer, and cook, with lid vented, for 1 hour or so, stirring occasionally. If water runs low, replenish and continue to simmer.
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| Frozen stock labelled with ounces and date |
Use your broth in any recipe that calls for broth or stock. Sip your broth as a nourishing snack or part of a meal. Add your broth as the liquid when cooking rice, gnocchi, and other starches to add flavor.
Veggie Scrap Broth Recipe
You’ll need:Veggie scraps (I wait until I’ve got a gallon bag full)
Water
Herbs, spices, garlic
Large stock pot (I use my 6-qt but you can make do with whatever you have and work in batches)
Slotted spoon or skimmer
Strainer and/or cheesecloth
Storage containers or bags
Add frozen vegetable scraps, herbs, and/or garlic to your pot. Add water. You should have enough water in the pot where you can easily stir the vegetables.
Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a bare simmer, and cook, with lid vented, for 1 hour or so, stirring occasionally. If water runs low, replenish and continue to simmer.
Take the pot off the stove and remove all the vegetables with a slotted spoon or a skimmer. You can save these scraps for compost or chicken feed.
Set your strainer over a large bowl and pour the broth through. Broth should be clean and clear without any bits floating. You can also run the broth through a cheesecloth.
Cool completely at room temperature and then divide into storage containers or freezer bags. Be sure to label containers with amounts and date.
Store in the refrigerator for up to one week or freeze for up to 3 months.
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