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I used to buy broth. I would use half a container, put the rest in the fridge and a couple of weeks later, empty the remains down the drain.
The packaging waste is also excessive.
At Safeway, you can choose from Tetra-Paks or cans for liquid broth; or plastic jars or paper cartons for dried bullion. Tetra-Paks are rarely recycled. Most cans are lined with BPA-infused plastic. And don’t be fooled! Products labelled as BPA-free may pose similar or worse health risks.
Today, I make broth out of what constitutes waste—bones or vegetable scraps. (Go here for my vegetable broth recipe.) I can control its salt content. I can make it without producing waste. In fact, I reduce waste. And it’s healthy. Here’s what Sally Fallon has to say about that:
“Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons–stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.
When broth is cooled, it congeals due to the presence of gelatin. The use of gelatin as a therapeutic agent goes back to the ancient Chinese. Gelatin was probably the first functional food, dating from the invention of the ‘digestor’ by the Frenchman Papin in 1682. Papin’s digestor consisted of an apparatus for cooking bones or meat with steam to extract the gelatin. Just as vitamins occupy the center of the stage in nutritional investigations today, so two hundred years ago gelatin held a position in the forefront of food research. Gelatin was universally acclaimed as a most nutritious foodstuff particularly by the French, who were seeking ways to feed their armies and vast numbers of homeless in Paris and other cities. Although gelatin is not a complete protein, containing only the amino acids arginine and glycine in large amounts, it acts as a protein sparer, helping the poor stretch a few morsels of meat into a complete meal. During the siege of Paris, when vegetables and meat were scarce, a doctor named Guerard put his patients on gelatin bouillon with some added fat and they survived in good health.” — Sally Fallon, “Broth Is Beautiful”
When I buy my chicken and meat, I bring a container to fill and the butchers at the store I patronize no longer appear to think I am insane.
You will need a slow cooker for my version. You could simmer it in a pot on low for about four hours instead, being sure to add more water if necessary as it cooks down.
Ingredients
- Bones
- Water
- Splash of cider vinegar (to draw out the minerals)
- Salt if desired
- Chopped vegetables if desired
Directions
1. Store the bones in containers in the freezer. Before I make my broth, I take them out to thaw. You can probably skip thawing the bones if you store them this way, but the water will heat up slowly with a pile of frozen bones in it, which will consume more energy.
2. If you want to add chopped vegetables, such as onions, carrots and celery, place them in the bottom of the crock. (I made this without vegetables.) Place bones over the vegetables. Cover bones with water by about an inch. Add a splash of vinegar. Replace the lid and turn the slow cooker on to low.
3. Cook for 24 hours.
4. Place a colander over a bowl and dump in the crock contents.
5. Strain the broth. I use a funnel with a built-in, removable strainer and I lined it with cheesecloth. (Try not to spill the broth all over the place as I have done here.)
6. Refrigerate. After a few hours, the broth will congeal as in the above pic—a good sign, as it contains all that healthy gelatin. The broth will liquefy when you heat it up. Use within a week.
I have a fairly small slow cooker (4 quarts or so) and this batch yielded about 3 cups, or one jar (on the left). I took a pic of my jar of broth beside a jar of organic pastured pork bone broth from the farmer’s market. The pork bone broth cost $8. I don’t mind paying for quality food in a returnable glass jar, but mine cost $0. Even better!
Bone Broth
Ingredients
- Bones
- Water
- Splash of cider vinegar (to draw out the minerals)
- Salt if desired
- Chopped vegetables if desired
Directions
1. If using frozen bones, remove them from the freezer to thaw.
2. Place chopped vegetables, such as onions, carrots and celery, in the bottom of the crock if desired. Place bones over the vegetables. Cover bones with water by about an inch. Add a splash of vinegar. Replace the lid and turn the slow cooker on to low.
3. Cook for 24 hours.
4. Place a colander over a bowl and dump in the crock contents.
5. Strain the broth.
6. Refrigerate and use within a week.