ADVERTISEMENT
I love mushrooms and will eat every piece, so they rarely make it into the bag. (Especially since I know the secret to everlasting mushrooms.) But depending on the recipe I’m using, or if the stems look beat up, I will save the stems of mushrooms for the freezer. Mushrooms give the vegetable stock a wonderful, robust flavor.
Leeks
Often the very tops or outermost leaves of leeks look less than appealing. They can still impart their wonderful flavor to broth, though. I’ll add the bottom root that I’ve chopped off too.
You can use scallions in the same way.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes definitely go in the ugly broth bag, but try not to add too many of the seeds as they can impart a bitter flavor to the broth.
Other Vegetables
Most other vegetables I’ve experimented with either make your broth cloudy or bitter, so stick to these veggies. We eat enough vegetables in our house that even with this rather short list, I can make stock at least once a month.
Bones
I always toss chicken bones in the bag. I don’t often purchase boneless chicken, so there’s usually plenty of bones for broth. I’ve even got the kids trained to leave the bones on the plate when they clear the table. Give the bones a good whack to crack them open, and then toss them in the freezer bag with everything else.
I try not to let the bag get too full of cracked chicken bones; I don’t want to poke holes in my bags.
Hard Cheese Rinds
And finally, I purchase blocks of parmesan cheese rather than the abomination that comes in a green jar. When we get down to the hard rind that goes in the freezer bag, Pecorino Romano works great too, but I wouldn’t suggest using other cheeses.
Broth Making Day
Whenever I notice the bag is full, it’s time to make broth.
SEE NEXT PAGE
ADVERTISEMENT
