Experimental Economical Vegetable Stock

I have really gotten into making vegetable stock using this new method. It is the most economical thing you can make if you cook with vegetables and enjoy soup. The trick is this: you save the discard bits of the vegetables you chop up and use in other dishes. These can be saved over time in a large tupperware container in the freezer (or fridge, if you’re going through vegetables fast enough). Save the ends of onions, stems of green vegetables, mushrooms and fresh herbs. Potato peelings… pretty much anything you want.

Ingredients for veggie stock
Saving scraps!

I thought it would be a hassle to do at first, so it took me about a year to actually try it. Really though, it’s quite easy. Just keep a tupperwear in the freezer and add vegetable scraps to it as you make other things. Then, once you’ve collected enough to fill your pot, take them out. In your largest soup pot, dump the frozen veggies and fill the rest with water.

Hey look! I loved that tomato stock so much that I took a picture of it. Please note the enormous canning pot chock full of veggie scraps. That was a lot of very delicious stock!

Put it on to boil, then reduce and simmer for 45 minutes with the lid on. Strain out vegetables and whisk in one or two or more tablespoons of miso and nutritional yeast. This addition makes the stock cloudy and adds a wonderful flavour dimension, as well as some really excellent nutrients. Also add any herbs or spices you want. I put some cayenne in last time—spicy!

Melting frozen stock
Freeze soup-sized batches of your home-made stock so that it’s on hand whenever you make soup!

This recipe appeals to my experimental cook tendencies. You never know exactly what kind of stock you’re going to get! Last time I made this stock it was great! There were mushrooms, onions, fresh cilantro, leeks, carrots and green vegetable stems. In the new batch I made today, I included eggplant ends, a lemon rind, and an extra head of garlic cut in half. Did I mention I’m really excited about the experimental aspect?

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29 Comments Add yours

  1. Michael says:

    Edible cheese rind from hard cheeses is another great thing to save to add to stock.

    1. Interesting! How do you know if the cheese rind is edible?

  2. Glenda says:

    Sylvi, Ema would be so proud of you. Nothing was wasted in her kitchen!
    She was so ahead of her time and she made great vegetable soup, which she pronounced “weggietable”. It is one of my fondest memories of her. Love,
    Glenda

  3. Michael says:

    By edible, I really mean palatable. If it is a wax rind, don’t use it. or take the wax off. Basically, take a bite of it. Parmigiano reggiano works great. Most hard cheeses work great. With Parmesan, the melty chunks left in the stock make great chewy treats in the soup if you choose not to take them out.

    Cheers

  4. Silvi says:

    Thanks for the tip, Micheal!

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