A couple weeks ago I talked about making your own stock as a cheaper and more flavorful alternative to buying it. Hänni made a great comment I failed to touch on in that post: using scraps or older vegetables as stock ingredients. When you’re cutting your carrots or your onion or whatever you usually trim stuff off and those trimmings usually end up in the trash. Older vegetables past their prime often end up in the same destination. Such waste! It’s sad, you say, but cannot be avoided.
I’m here to tell you that there are many ways to reduce your waste and one of of my most cherished methods is through making stock. Carrots don’t need to be crisp, potatoes don’t have to be firm without sprouts; because all you’re really doing is sucking all the precious flavor you can out of them and tossing them out! Clearly, you have judge what is suitable for stock and what is beyond saving and Barbara of over at Tigers and Strawberries has a great post on this with guidelines to follow (be sure to check out her other articles on food preservation as well).
So next time you’re about throw that vegetable away, ask yourself if would make a tasty addition to a well made stock.
Tags: kitchen tips