Getting the Most Out of Vegetables: How to Make Your Own Vegetable Stock

Subheading.

I first made vegetable stock because I noticed the amount of food we were wasting. Celery and carrots would end up forgotten in the crisper, then composted. I hate letting food go to waste, and making vegetable stock combats that. On top of that, I don't like buying things that I can make myself. It's easy, helps stop food waste and tastes better than store bought vegetable stock.

Why make your own vegetable stock?

As I already mentioned, making your own vegetable stock cuts down on food waste, but there are many other reasons to do it.

• Homemade vegetable stock contains far less sodium than store bought. One cup of store bought stock can have 550mg of sodium in it! Using homemade stock is an easy way to cut sodium and eat a bit healthier.

• It's very inexpensive. It uses scraps of vegetables that you've already bought, that would otherwise go in the compost. It's a good way to stretch your food budget, by using things that would go to waste.

• Store-bought stock comes in Tetra-pack cartons, which are harmful to the environment. Making your own stock cuts down on a bit of unnecessary waste. The cartons are single use and not recyclable everywhere, not to mention that you can only recycle 26% of the material from them.

What should you save to make vegetable stock?

There are many things you can save to make stock with. Here is what I use:

• Celery

• Onion scraps and skins

• Broccoli stocks

• Leek greens

• The ends of green onions

• Carrot peels and scraps

• Mushrooms

• Tomatoes

• Parsley

• Thyme

There are many things that you shouldn't add to your stock. Here are a few:

• Potatoes

• Turnips

• Beets

• Zucchini

• Green beans

• Peppers

I save all these scraps by putting them in a large ziplock in my freezer. I reuse the same bag to collect my scraps every time. You can also use a large plastic Tupperware container or any container that is sealable and freezer safe.

How to make your own vegetable stock:

To start, you will need a large pot, your vegetable scraps and water.

1. Add scraps to your pot and fill the rest of your pot with cold water.

2. Bring the contents of your pot to a boil on medium to high heat.

3. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low-medium.

4. Let simmer for 1-2 hours. Cooking for longer will make a more flavourful stock.

5. Strain your stock.

6. Once cool, you can store your stock for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.

How to use your vegetable stock:

You can use vegetable stock in many of your favourite recipes. I have two vegetarian kids, so when recipes call for chicken stock, I replace it with my vegetable stock. You can use it in soups, risotto and sauces. Whenever a recipe calls for broth or stock, you can use this.

Thank you for reading this post. Leave a comment and let me know if you will try making your own stock.