How to Make your Own Vegetable Stock

I put stock in a LOT of things when I’m cooking. In all honesty, if stock had never been invented I would be a bit lost. Sauces, stews, soups, rice, cous cous, veggies… the list is endless.Nowadays you can get such wonderful stock from great suppliers like Kent’s Kitchen. However, we like to make sure that if you’d like to make your own stock, you know how.

It’s Easy to Make & Easy to Store

Stock is just a broth flavoured by whatever is in it. So, we’re going to start with a vegetable stock because it’s the easiest.

How to Make your Own Vegetable Stock

Ingredients

• • 1 to 2 onions
  • 2 to 3 carrots
  • 3 to 4 celery stalks
  • 4 to 5 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 small bunch parsley
  • 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
  • Optional Extras: leeks (especially the green parts), fennel, tomatoes, mushrooms,
  • mushroom stems, parsnips

  Equipment

  • Sharp knife
  • Stock pot
  • Strainer
  • Cheesecloth or coffee filters (for straining)
  • Storage containers

Instructions:

1. Gather Vegetables and Herbs: Onions, carrots, and celery give stock a great base flavor, and you can round these out with any of the other vegetables listed above.
2. Roughly Chop All The Vegetables: Wash any visible dirt off the vegetables and give them a rough chop. You don’t even need to peel them first unless you really want to. (Some people even advocate leaving on the onion skins!) Throw all the vegetables in a pot big enough to hold them plus a few extra inches of water. Add the herbs.
3. Cover with Water and Simmer: Cover the vegetables with enough water that you can easily stir them in the pot. Less water means that your stock will be more concentrated; more water makes a lighter-flavored stock. Set the pot over medium-high heat and bring it to just under a boil. Once you start to see some bubbling around the edges of the pot and a few wisps of steam on the surface, turn the heat down to medium-low.
4. Cook for One Hour (60 minutes): This isn’t an exact science, but one hour is generally enough time to infuse the water with vegetable goodness. Give it a stir every now and again to circulate the vegetables.
5. Strain and Store Take the pot off the stove and remove all the vegetables with a slotted spoon. Set your strainer over a big bowl and line it with cheese cloth or coffee filters. Pour the stock through. Divide the stock into storage containers, cool completely, and then freeze.

Storing:

I would recommend cooking a lot of stock and then letting it cool. Once it’s cooled popped the liquid in some ice holders and pop in the freezer. Then whenever you need some stock you can just pop it in! SO EASY AND CONVENIENT!