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Building Blocks Waste Reduction

Scraps Broth

I keep a large ziplock of veggie scraps and bones in my freezer at all times. Once the ziplock is full, I make this broth. It’s a great way to save some organics from the landfill and stretch a rotisserie chicken further. If an animal died for this, I better get every morsel of nutrition out of it.

I keep a large ziplock of veggie scraps and bones in my freezer at all times. Once the ziplock is full, I make this broth. It’s a great way to save some organics from the landfill and stretch a rotisserie chicken further. If an animal died for this, I better get every morsel of nutrition out of it.

Ingredients

  • Vegetable scraps:
    • Onion tops and bottoms and outside leaves. Not too many peels or the broth will turn red.
    • Garlic shoots and bottoms
    • Carrot bottoms and peels
    • Celery leaves, bottoms and peels
    • Parsnip bottoms and peels
    • Celery root peels
    • Parsley stems
  • (optional) Poultry—chicken, duck, goose, or turkey-—carcasses or any sort of bones except pork
  • Carrot(s) – optional
  • Onion(s) – optional
  • Celery stalk(s) – optional
  • Parsnip(s) – optional
  • Celery root – optional
  • Aromatics: I usually use bay leaf, you can also add thyme springs and black pepper corns

Make sure all your scraps are well-washed. It is best to wash the vegetables before peeling and chopping, but rewash them in lots of cold running water if something goes wrong.

Place everything in a large stockpot. Cover with water.

Place on high heat on the stove. Bring to boil. Skim if you want a transparent broth.

Simmer on low, uncovered, for about 1-2 hours. Simmer more if you’d like a thick broth. Careful, don’t leave it unattended for long, though — it will burn (this happened before).

Filter out the solids with a colander. If there are any salvageable pieces of meat, save them for the soup later.

Before refrigerating, cool to room temperature under a loose-fitting lid. If you close it while hot, there will be condensate on the cover from beneath, and it will speed up the spoilage, which would be a pity.

Make it a meal

  • Add halved boiled eggs, parmesan, parsley, chicken meat (if using) and a handful or cooked pasta and voila you have a chicken soup.

Notes

  • Mix and match your ingredients. I sometimes make just a broth scraps broth and it works fine.
  • Freezes very well.
  • Tightly covered, keeps for about 1 week in the fridge
  • Christmas duck or goose makes for an amazing broth base. Make mushroom soup with it.