Vegetable Scrap Broth

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Many years ago, I got into the habit of saving vegetable scraps in a gallon storage bag in my freezer. I have never been a fan of wasting food, and I realized that there was still plenty of use to be found in those bits that most of us throw away. Carrot tops, onion trimmings, fennel fronds, mushroom stems… they find their way into that bag in my freezer more often than not. (Excess bunched herbs and those old bunches of celery that I only needed one stalk from end up in there too, though admittedly they often go bad before I catch them far more often than I would like). Before long, I have enough stockpiled to turn into vegetable broth. It’s a perfect way to save a little cash over buying pre-packaged broth, and a safety net for those times that I need broth for a recipe and realize that I don’t have any on hand. All it takes is my bag of scraps, water, a little oil and seasonings, and a bit of time.

Since I’ve started working with Chele on finding foods that are safe for here celiac restrictions and other sensitivities, we’ve found yet another benefit to this practice: you get to control what goes in it. We’ve found that many commercial pre-packaged broths are hidden sources of gluten. FDA guidelines allow for products to be labeled “gluten-free” if their gluten content is below a small enough threshold. Unfortunately, this is useless (and potentially dangerous) for those with celiac disease, as the only safe amount of gluten they can consume is 0. Not .001%, not .0000001%…. Zero. None. Zilch. That’s the limit. The problem is compounded further by the fact that companies can use vague ingredients on labels such as “natural flavor” and “spices” without disclosing what they actually entail. Frequently, these mystery ingredients turn out to be a hidden source of gluten in commercially prepared foods.

So we’ve established that saving vegetable scraps for broth is a pretty great thing. There are a few considerations to make before you start freezing every spec of green that was destined for the trash, though. First, make sure you wash everything thoroughly. You don’t want any dirt, grit, pesticide, or whatever else you leave on your scraps ending up in your broth. It is also a good idea to cut bulkier items up into one- to two-inch pieces. This will allow more flavor to be pulled into your broth. You can do that step later, if you prefer, but it can be much more difficult to chop things after they are frozen.

As for what kinds of vegetable scraps can go in your bag, things are relatively open. Heartier, flavorful vegetables work best. Prime candidates include anything in the onion/garlic family, celery, carrots and carrot tops, fennel fronds and stalks, mushroom stems, asparagus trimmings, and most root vegetables. Bunch herbs like parsley, cilantro, basil, dill, and the like are also great additions.

You’ll probably want to skip lightly flavored or watery items like lettuce and cucumber, as well as anything bitter. I would advise against tomatoes as well – tomato broth is its own thing. They will overpower the flavor of most anything else you are using, so save them for when your recipe calls for them. There are also some bits of our vegetables that we throw away for a reason. Tomato and pepper leaves and stems are toxic and should never be eaten. The same goes for potato eyes and old green potatoes.

There’s also the fun part of rediscovering what you have saved when it is time to make your broth. Maybe you’ll find some shiitake stems from that stir fry you made a while back. Or maybe that handful of ramp tops that you ran out of time to use back in the spring. Or maybe it will simply be the satisfaction of knowing all of that celery didn’t rot at the bottom of the crisper drawer.