I went through a phase of making my own soup stock, but my interest waned along with my enthusiasm for soup. Well, there’s been a resurgence on both fronts.
When I recently found myself making more soups and stews, I thought it was high time to reintroduce the practice of setting aside veggie skins, scraps and the like for stock making.
The process really couldn’t be much easier. I’m keeping a plastic container in the freezer, and every time I do a little peeling, trimming or cutting, I toss in the remainders. It’s also a nice repository for the wilted herbs (not ones gone bad) and the (literal) odds and ends we’re not going to use.
Turning scraps to stock is a better use of resources (natural and monetary) than composting these materials. After all, you’re using unwanted items to help create desired ones (provided your cooking is at least passable). Besides, you can still compost the solid remains afterward.
And as a bonus, making vegetable stock makes me feel less guilty about peeling my carrots. [Note: I’ve stopped peeling the local ones from the farmers’ market.]
Since I’m far from an expert on the topic, are there any tips/strategies you’ve found helpful for making vegetable stock? Any no-no’s?
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