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Emma Christensen
Emma Christensen
Emma is a former editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. She is the author of True Brews and Brew Better Beer. Check out her website for more cooking stories
updated Nov 17, 2023
thanksgiving
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All you need are some chopped up vegetables and fresh herbs.
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Every time we make vegetable stock, we wonder why we ever bother buying it in the store. It’s so easy! Chop up some vegetables, cover with water, and simmer. Done. You’ll have enough stock to make your soups, casseroles, and pilafs for weeks to come, and all in just a little over an hour.
The Best Vegetables for Vegetable Stock
When making a basic vegetable stock, you want vegetables with neutral, but savory flavors. Some recipes recommend adding garlic and other strong spices, but unless we know how we’re going to be using the broth, we prefer to add those kinds of seasonings when we’re actually making a dish. We also don’t add salt to the stock for the same reason. Onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms are the ideal starter vegetables for stock, but feel free to swap any of these for leeks, tomatoes or parsnips.
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Saving Vegetables for Broth
We keep a big resealable bag in our freezer where we can throw vegetable odds and ends: vegetables that have wilted beyond saving, the green parts from leeks, trimmings from carrots, and so on. Once this bag gets full, we use the contents to make broth.
Vegetables to Avoid When Making Vegetables Stock
Seems contrary to the title but not every vegetables is destined for vegetable 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.
Simple Upgrades for Better Vegetable Stock
While vegetable broth is a basic building block of the kitchen it doesn’t have to be boring. Consider adding leftover Parmesan rinds to your vegetable stock. Kombu is powerful addition, mostly for its thickening and umami abilities.
Two ways to add more flavor to your broth are to roast the vegetables beforehand or to let them sweat (start to soften and release their liquids) for a few minutes over the heat before adding the water.
How To Make Vegetable Stock
All you need are some chopped up vegetables and fresh herbs.
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1 to 2
onions
- 2 to 3
carrots
- 3 to 4
celery stalks
- 4 to 5 sprigs
fresh thyme
- 1
bay leaf
- 1
small bunch fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon
black peppercorns
Optional extras: leeks (especially the green parts), fennel, tomatoes, mushrooms, mushroom stems, parsnips
Equipment
Sharp knife
Stock pot
Strainer
Cheesecloth or coffee filters (for straining)
Storage containers
Instructions
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Gather some vegetables and herbs. Onions, carrots, and celery give stock a great base flavor, and you can round these out with any of the other vegetables listed above. You can also make stock using any amount of vegetables that you happen to have on-hand, but it's good to have a roughly equal portion of each so the resulting stock will have a balanced flavor.
Coarsely chop all the vegetables. Wash any visible dirt off the vegetables and give them a rough chop. You don't even need to peel them first unless you really want to. (Some people even advocate leaving on the onion skins!) Throw all the vegetables in a pot big enough to hold them plus a few extra inches of water.
Cover with water and bring to a simmer. Cover the vegetables with enough water that you can easily stir them in the pot. Less water means that your stock will be more concentrated; more water makes a lighter-flavored stock. Set the pot over medium-high heat and bring it to just under a boil. Once you start to see some bubbling around the edges of the pot and a few wisps of steam on the surface, turn the heat down to medium-low.
Simmer for about 1 hour. This isn't an exact science, but one hour is generally enough time to infuse the water with vegetable goodness. If you need to take it off the heat a little early or don't get to it until a little later, it will be fine. Give it a stir every now and again to circulate the vegetables.
Strain and store. Take the pot off the stove and remove all the vegetables with a slotted spoon. Set a colander or strainer over a big bowl and line it with cheesecloth or coffee filters. Pour the stock through. If not using immediately, divide the stock into storage containers, cool completely, and then freeze.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Refrigerate the stock in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Freeze for up to 3 months.
(Images: Emma Christensen)
Filed in:
Side Dish
soup
stovetop
thanksgiving
vegan
Vegetables
