Stock Tip!

Well, now that I got your attention, I will now disappoint you with information on soup stock. One ingredient I love having around is vegetable and chicken stock. I have no way of composting anything at this time and I wondered if there was anyway to use the ends of the four vegetables I am constantly chopping up: Onions, Carrots, Celery, and Parsley. Then it occurred to me that I could always have fresh stock on hands. So this is what I do:

I keep an mason jar in my refrigerator and when I go to chop vegetables, I take it out and in goes the ends of the four vegetables I mentioned above. One quart mason jar filled with scraps will make one quart of stock. I just put them in a pot with a quart of water, put on the lid, and simmer it slowly for about a half an hour. Then strain.

Ok, so this photo shows a bit more than a quart, probably had some extra vegetable ends that day. I also do this with chicken stock. We eat a LOT of chicken. I always have chicken carcasses around and I am also one to buy chicken backs at the market specifically to make stock. When I do chicken stock I also include the vegetable scraps for a fuller flavored stock. A chicken carcass or back along with vegetables makes about 2 quarts of stock. after I strain it, I do let it sit in the refrigerator so the fat can rise to the top and then I skim it off. Both vegetable and chicken stock freeze well. I cannot say how long they keep because I use them fairly quickly.

What about other vegetables? Well, I have tried other vegetables as well: stalks of broccoli, etc. The problem with that is that the stock flavor is inconsistent. If you are an adventurer, go for it. I tend to stick to the four vegetables listed above (and the chicken when doing chicken stock).

Well, this may not be the type of stock tip you were hoping for, but I hope it is still useful to you.