Veggie Stock Revisited

I've had a lot of questions about my veggie stock freezer bag. "How do you do it?" "I've started my ziplock, now what do I do?" So here is the basics. It is not a recipe. These are just guidelines for using scraps.

Carrots: I use peelings and heads. If your carrots are really dirty, rinse and dry them before peeling. You don't want to have to strain dirt from a stock.

Onions: I use the inner peel, parts that are half dry half moist, and then the remnants from dicing/slicing. White/yellow onions are way better than red, but a red onion won't kill it.

Celery: Leaves are great. The white bottom and core are good as well.

Herbs: Parsley stems and thyme sprigs have a huge amount of flavor. Sage and cilantro are strong and specify what you will make with it.

Tomatoes: Made a salad? Throw the core in the bag. Made salsa? Throw the skins in the bag.

Mushrooms: Stems/peelings from the top. Like the carrots, watch the dirt!

When you make your stock, it's all about proportions. If you don't have enough carrots, throw half a carrot in. If you need some herbs, throw some more in.

Everything listed as not needed adds depth and body to your veggie stock. If you have less of these than the proportion list, it's fine. If you have more of these items, beware.

Proportions:

3 parts onion

3 parts carrot

2 parts celery (not needed)

1 part herbs

1 part tomato (not needed)

1 part mushroom (not needed)

1 peppercorn for every cup of ingredients

Half a bay leaf for every cup of ingredients

Herbs are a hundred times better fresh. I've said this before. No dried herbs!

If you want a richer stock, saute the veg in a little olive oil to gain some brown color. If you are lazy, toss them with some olive oil and roast them in the oven until browned.

Put everything in a stock pot (which you sauteed the veg in) and cover with water. Bring to a boil, drop to a simmer, add peppercorns and bay leaf, and wait half an hour. You want everything cooked to death. Boiling will make it cloudy and dirty, but simmering is important. You want to cook it to death. You're extracting flavor - not enhancing it!

Strain it through a cheesecloth. You will end up with a green-brown liquer and a gross vegetable mass. Mash all the liquid out of the veg. If you aren't using it immediately, cool it fast over an ice bath. (Sanitation!) It will last in a sealed container in the fridge for about 2 weeks. You can put the liquer back in the pot and reduce it if you want to concentrate the flavors or save it. Don't forget, it has no salt. When you add salt to it the flavor and salinity will multiply exponentially. Careful, all packaged stock already has salt. If you reduce it, add salt after the reduction. There is no way to un-add salt.

Practice and enjoy.

P.S. For poultry: 6 parts the wing/legs/cleaned spines of a chicken/duck/turkey makes great stock. (Give it 6 hours to simmer.) If you roast the poultry it makes it twice as delicious. The added time and gelatin add body. Veal/beef/lamb/pork stock requires a private class - please schedule. You will appreciate it. 

P.P.S. This is still a vegetarian focused blog.