Vegetable Scrap Broth
The freezer bag next to the ice compartment collects scraps until it is full, and then the broth costs nothing.
- Preparation
- 10 min
- Cook/bake time
- 45 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
The freezer bag next to the ice compartment collects scraps until it is full, and then the broth costs nothing. Onion skins, carrot ends, leek greens and celery stalks release exactly the same flavor as whole vegetables. What does not belong in it, however, is a short and important list.
Why this works
The flavor compounds in vegetables are not located in the flesh, but largely in the outer layers. The onion skin contains the pigment quercetin, which dyes the broth golden brown, while the aromatic terpenes are found in carrot peels and leek greens. For a broth that will be strained anyway, the peel is therefore not the leftover, but the more interesting part. The time limit of 45 minutes applies here just as it does to any vegetable broth. After that, the cell walls are empty and only bitter substances dissolve. The exclusion list also has solid reasons. Cabbage releases sulfur compounds during long cooking, potato peels release starch that clouds the broth and makes it spoil faster, and beetroot turns everything pink.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Collect until the bag is full
Collect vegetable scraps over weeks in a freezer bag in the ice compartment. Onion and garlic skins, carrot and celery stalks, leek greens, mushroom stems and herb stems are allowed in. Cabbage of any kind, potato peels and beetroot do not belong in it.
- 2
Roast frozen
Put the frozen scraps with the oil in a large pot and roast them for 5 minutes over high heat until they take on color. Thawing is not necessary. On the contrary, the released meltwater evaporates in the process and the roasting goes faster.
- 3
Pour in water and simmer for 45 minutes
Add tomatoes, porcini mushrooms, bay leaves and pepper, pour in cold water and let everything simmer gently uncovered for 45 minutes. Longer does not make the broth stronger, but bitter, as vegetables release their flavor quickly.
- 4
Strain
Pour the broth through a fine sieve and do not press out the scraps, because pressed vegetables cloud it immediately. Freeze unsalted, so it remains flexible for soup, risotto and cooking liquid.
