Stock FAQs

how to make stock with vegetable scraps

by Prof. Casey Tillman Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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How do you make homemade vegetable stock?

Instructions

  • For Instant Pot or pressure cooker: Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot or a large pressure cooker. ...
  • Regular soup pot: Place all ingredients in a large soup pot. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over medium high heat. ...
  • Store the vegetable broth in covered jars in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days, or freeze for up to 4 months.

How to make homemade vegetable stock?

  • Place in pot – Place water and all the ingredients in a pot;
  • Simmer 2 hours – Simmer for 2 hours and reduce by half. ...
  • Strain – Strain into a bowl, pressing juices out of the vegetables; and
  • Measure – Pour into a jug to measure. If you have much more than 1 litre / 1 quart, return to the pot and simmer to reduce further. ...

How to make the most flavorful vegetable stock?

Method:

  • In a stockpot, bring 2 tbls of extra virgin olive oil to heat. ...
  • Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and sweat for 30 minutes or until the onions caramelize and turn a nice golden brown.
  • Add 3 quarts of water, and vegetable pieces. ...
  • Turn the heat off, then and add the parsley and fennel sprigs to the stock. ...

More items...

What to use instead of vegetable stock?

What are these alternatives?

  1. Marmite. It will add a richness that will almost mimic beef stock. ...
  2. Miso Paste. Regardless if your food is Asian or not this will definitely add some great flavour. ...
  3. Instant Coffee. Only use a little bit, and work it in with a dark colour sauce. ...
  4. Vinegar / Lemon Juice. ...
  5. Garlic Puree Paste. ...
  6. Tomato Paste. ...
  7. Soya Sauce. ...
  8. Sundried Tomato Paste. ...

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How do you use vegetable scraps for stock?

To make a vegetable stock, place the contents of your freezer bag or whichever vegetables scraps in whatever ratios you've chosen in a pot, add a bay leaf if you want, cover everything with water, bring the water to a boil, reduce it to a simmer, and let it all cook for 10 minutes, and no longer.

Can you use vegetable peelings to make stock?

Vegetable stock is one of those ingredients that is easy to buy off the shelf yet so much more delicious – and economical – when cooked from scratch. And you don't have to purchase pounds of fresh veggies to make it. Using vegetable peelings, stalks, and leaves can be a great way to save money and avoid wasting food.

What should you not put in vegetable 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.

Can I freeze vegetable scraps to make stock?

Throw the veggie scraps into a one-gallon freezer bag, and freeze them. Over the next few days or weeks, continue to add scraps to the bag, until it's full. When you're ready to make stock, simply throw the scraps into a pot – either a large stockpot or a Dutch oven is best.

Why is my veggie stock bitter?

Simmer time - about 2 hours. It quite often happens that my vegetable stock is bitter, but it never happened with a chicken stock. I read here and there that vegetable stock shouldn't be cooked for long - even 45 minutes should be enough, and if simmered for too long it may become bitter.

Can onion skins go in stock?

1. Onion Skin Stock. The simplest way to integrate onion skins into your cooking is by stirring these nutritional powerhouses into your vegetable stock.

Can you use carrot peels in stock?

We do not recommend using things like onion skins and carrot peels in stock as they don't add a ton of flavor, but the final call is up to you! Imperfect vegetables that are great in stock: Onions, carrots, celery, garlic, leeks, fennel, mushrooms, thyme, parsley.

What are the basic rules of making stock?

The Cardinal Rules of Stock MakingNEVER SALT STOCK. Ever. ... SKIM STOCK OFTEN IN THE BEGINNING. ... NEVER BOIL STOCK. ... THE BETTER YOUR INGREDIENTS, THE BETTER YOUR STOCK. ... STRAIN YOUR STOCK WHEN IT COMES OFF THE STOVE. ... ALWAYS DROP YOUR STOCK QUICKLY (UNLESS YOU'RE USING IT IMMEDIATELY) ... CAN YOU BREAK THESE RULES?

How long should you boil vegetable stock?

Bring to a simmer and then drop the heat until you just get a bare simmer. The surface of the stock should just barely be bubbling. Cook for 1 1/2 hours.

Is vegetable stock healthy?

Vegetable broth is packed with minerals like calcium and magnesium and vitamins like vitamin A, C, E, and K. Because they're both so nutrient-dense—not to mention low in calories and high in fiber—broths make an excellent addition to any diet.

Can you use broccoli stems in stock?

We sliced the stalks into thin discs and tossed them in the pan with leeks and potatoes, then dotted the frittata with goat cheese before putting it in the oven. Use them for vegetable stock. Emily's tip on saving scraps for stock is a great one. You can throw all kinds of misfit vegetable pieces in that pot.

Is vegetable stock the same as vegetable broth?

When it comes to vegetable broth vs. stock, they're the same thing. Vegetables don't contain gelatin, so it's impossible to make a vegetarian stock without bones. The major difference between the two at the grocery store is the broth may contain salt.

1. What is vegetable stock?

Vegetable stock is a flavorful liquid made from simmering unseasoned vegetables in water and then straining out the cooked vegetables. It is used as a base, in place of water, in many dishes. If you’re curious about the difference between vegetable stock and vegetable broth, click here.

2. What vegetables are used in vegetable stock?

The three main vegetables are onions, carrots, and celery. This is based on the “holy trinity” of flavors known as mirepoix in French cooking. You want to have a balance of these flavors. The ratio of ingredients in mirepoix is 2 parts onion to 1 part carrot and 1 part celery. Since we are using kitchen scraps, this ratio is flexible.

3. What vegetables should not be used in vegetable stock?

Because stock is a base, we want a neutral flavor and golden color that will enhance any dish. Therefore, skip beet peelings and red cabbage which can turn the stock red. Save garlic and strong herbs, like rosemary, which can overpower the other flavors, for the compost.

4. Where do I get vegetable scraps?

This is the easy part! When you are preparing a dish, simply save the scraps. I store mine in a plastic bag in the refrigerator where they stay fresh for about 2 weeks. If you make stock less often, store them in the freezer. They will happily wait for you there until you’re ready.

5. How do I make vegetable stock from scraps?

This is the other easy part. Take all your vegetable scraps and put them in a stockpot. Pour water, enough to cover, over the scraps. This is typically the same ratio of water to scraps. If I have 6 cups of scraps, I use 6 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Simmer for 1-2 hours and then turn off the heat.

How to make vegetable stock with kitchen scraps

1. Gather six cups of vegetable scraps or chopped veggies. You can use frozen scraps straight from the freezer.

How to Make Vegetable Stock with Kitchen Scraps

Making your own vegetable stock at home from leftover kitchen scraps is as simple as boiling vegetable peelings with water. Use it to sauté onions, flavor up grains and bring umami to soups and stews.

You've likely heard this kitchen tip before. But we've thought through all the factors in excruciating detail

Sho Spaeth has worked in publishing and media for 16 years. Prior to joining Serious Eats, he worked at The New York Times for a decade. Sho has written for Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Baffler Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, among other publications.

Why You Should Save Vegetable Scraps for Stock

No matter what you cook, you’re likely to produce waste, even if it’s just the garlic skins from a few cloves you’ve minced for aglio e olio.

How to Save Vegetable Scraps for Stock

While you can use a lot of vegetables in stock, you can’t use all of them, because some vegetables—particularly cruciferous ones like broccoli and cauliflower—will make your stock bitter or otherwise unpalatable (read: farty). Here, then, is a small list of commonly used vegetables that are perfect for this purpose.

How to Use Frozen Vegetable Scraps to Make Stock

Because of the way the freezing process destroys the vegetables' cells, making stock with frozen vegetable scraps is a little different than using fresh vegetables, and is ultimately much more convenient.

How to Use Stock Made From Vegetable Scraps

A stock made with frozen vegetable scraps isn’t by any means a beautiful stock, and if you're only using vegetables and aren't adding anything with collagen (meat, basically), it will have no gelatin in it, which means it will lack body and, as a result, will never thicken, no matter how much you reduce it.

Save Money: How To Make Vegetable Stock from Scraps

Watch the video below to see the full tutorial to make this vegetable stock recipe from scraps (just wait until the ad is done—those keep this site and my recipes free!).

Homemade Vegetable Stock Recipe Ingredients

As I mentioned, it’s fine to use mostly scraps to make veggie stock; you don’t necessarily need to buy all of these things just for the stock.

Things to Avoid in Homemade Vegetable Stock

While this vegetable stock recipe is very flexible, some things will completely change the flavor of this delicious base. What should you NOT put in vegetable stock? Here are items you should not put in vegetable stock:

How To Make Vegetable Stock

How do you make your own stock? You can make your own stock in 4 easy steps:

How To Use Vegetable Stock

Veggie stock can be used as a base for soups and to add great flavor to cooked grains. You can use it as a substitute in any soup recipe that calls for water or chicken stock—it has way more flavor than water.

Vegetable Stock Recipe from Scraps

This flexible vegetable stock recipe saves you money by using scraps that you’ve saved from onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms to make a glorious stock. No problem if you don’t have scraps, simply grab the ingredients listed below and simmer your stock for a few hours.

ABOUT

If you’re not eating Easy Loaded Sheet Pan Nachos while watching the Super Bowl then you’re just...

How to make homemade vegetable stock

STEP ONE: Get yourself a giant ziplock freezer bag and put all your vegetable scraps in it. The outside of an onion, carrot peel, celery leaves, mushrooms stalks... you see where I'm going here.

MORE HOW TO POSTS

If you’ve tried this Homemade Vegetable Stock I’d love to hear how you went! Pop a comment and a star rating below!

How to Make Vegetable Stock from Kitchen Scraps

RECIPE VIDEO ABOVE. Making homemade vegetable stock has never been easier. Grab your slow cooker and some vegetable scraps and create a flavourful stock that's perfect for soups and stews. I'll show you how.

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