How To: Broth

Several months ago I announced future posts about soup to get through the frigid Canadian winter. Having emerged from my hibernation with one post about soup under my belt, I realize I may have been a bit hasty in doing so. Well, so what if the worst of winter is over, I’m still going to give it a go. First things first though, pretty much any good soup starts with a good stock or broth.

Many people use the words “stock” and “broth” interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Stock is made from bones. It has a rich mouth feel from the break down of collagen in those bones. Because of that gelatin, it has the consistency of Jell-o once it is refrigerated. Stock is wonderful for soup and is the basis of many classic sauces. It is rarely found in supermarkets, but it is very easy to make.

Real broth is made from meat and/or vegetables. The powdered crap you usually find in the soup aisle of the grocery store is a poor facsimile of broth. It is dehydrated meat proteins and vegetable essence with a whole lot of salt, corn syrup, hydrolyzed starches, oils and other stabilizers. The liquid you typically find in cartons or cans is usually nothing better than a liquid version of this powder, with few exceptions. There are organic broths and stocks out there that aren’t loaded with preservatives and other junk, but they are incredibly expensive and few and far between. Since broth is not made from bones, it is lighter on the palette, from the absence of gelatin. Broth, like stock, is also very easy to make.

Broth and stock are also incredibly economical. In fact, most of what goes in to broth will set you back mere pennies. It might not even cost you anything. It might actually even save you money. It is quite likely you’re literally throwing away perfectly good stock ingredients on a weekly basis. Those limp carrots and celery stalks sitting in your fridge; the leaves and trimmings you normally discard from them; the leftover bits of onions you’re not sure what to do with; the tired herbs and parsley stems you didn’t use as a garnish; the carcass from the chicken you had for dinner - all of these things make up the basis of a great stock.

You want a basic broth to be versatile, lightly flavored and aromatic, so some vegetables are not so great for broth. Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, or things like bell peppers, impart a prominent flavor. The same goes for gamy meats. Starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, make your broth cloudy and offer little in terms of flavor. Vegetables high in anthocyanins, that is, beets, will make your broth look like blood. Unless you’re making borscht, it’s probably not a good choice, unless you’re cooking for Romanians, goths or a Halloween party.

An ideal base for stock includes 2 parts onion to 1 part celery and carrot. So if you add 1 cup of onions, you should add 1/2 cup celery and 1/2 cup carrot. If you are making stock, you should have roughly 5 parts bones to 1 part vegetables. You can always freeze bones until you have enough to make stock. Since it’s likely you’re making this from leftovers, this is just a guideline. Regardless, you’ll still end up with something superior to dehydrated bouillon. If you are adding meat, I recommend just cooking it as part of the end resulting soup or stew. Why would you want to strain out perfectly delicious braised meat?

Alright, I said this was easy, so enough blabbering, before I make it sound complicated. To begin, you need a container. Any container large enough to hold your ingredients covered with water will work to make stock. You don’t need to have a stock pot. You could use a roasting pan or a trash can or maybe even a coffee pot, if that’s what’s available. Put your ingredients in this container and cover them completely with cold water. Cold water is absolutely essential. If you want to preserve the flavor and nutrition of the vegetable itself, you make sure your water is boiling before you add them. If you want to extract the flavor and nutrition from the vegetable into the water, you start with cold water. That is what you want to do for broth. If you are using bones, you should preferably cover them with an additional inch or two of water.

Bring the water to a boil, uncovered, and reduce the heat to a simmer. You want to see a bit of bubbling action from time to time, the pot shouldn’t look dead like it’s sitting in the refrigerator - you are cooking, after all - but it should not be boiling away for any length of time. If you’re adding herbs, which is preferable, add them now. You can also add some peppercorns and cloves of garlic. Common herbs include parsley stems, sprigs of thyme and bay leaves, but you can use any herb you’d like to flavor your broth with. You can tie this all up in a coffee filter or cheesecloth, which will make it easier to remove afterwards.

Then you wait. If you’re just using vegetables, it shouldn’t take longer than an hour, depending on how large you’ve chopped them. Once they’re soft, your broth is ready. If you’ve added bones, it will take a lot longer to break down the collagen; about 3-4 hours for chicken bones, or 6-8 hours for ham, beef or veal bones. You can also use lean, white fish bones, such as cod or turbot, which will only take about 1 hour, but aren’t particularly high in collagen. If you are using bones, you’ll want to skim the scum that rises to the surface from time to time, but it’s a pretty low-maintenance task.

When sufficient time has elapsed to draw all the flavor out of your ingredients, remove the pot from the stove and strain into another container. If you are using anything but vegetables, it is preferable to refrigerate this overnight. Once it has chilled, the fat will have risen to the top of the pot and congealed, making it easy to remove. From here, the possibilities are endless. You can reduce stock to a glaze and use it as a highly flavored and aromatic sauce for meat or cooked vegetables. You can use your broth to cook dried legumes, rice or pasta in. You can, of course, use it as a base for soup or stew. Just remember, always season with salt at the end of cooking! Salt, unlike water, does not evaporate, and you’ll end up with an incredibly salty meal if you salt your broth before you end up cooking with it.

The simple act of putting ingredients in a pot, covered with water and simmered away for several hours is really all that’s necessary to make a great stock or broth. There are numerous variations for you to try. Experiment with different ingredients you happen to have around. If you want to keep your stock clear, blanch your bones first and use light ingredients, such as onions, leeks and mushrooms. If you want to give your stock more color and flavor, roast the bones and vegetables first, add tomatoes and/or a bit of wine. if your broth tastes flat, you can always add in a pinch of that powdered stuff you still have kicking around, but chances are you won’t be able to go back to it once you’ve made it from scratch.