How to make homemade vegetable broth from leftover vegetable scraps
When it comes to actually making the broth, there’s not too much effort involved. However, since you’re making this broth from vegetable scraps, there are a few steps you’ll need to take ahead of time to ensure your broth turns out balanced and delicious.
Step 1: start saving your scraps!
Next time you have leftover onion skins, carrot peels, kale stems, wilting herbs, flaccid celery, or tiny garlic cloves that are too annoying to peel, save them for broth!
First things first, you’ll need to make sure they’re clean. We typically wash the entire vegetable before using in our recipe, then pat dry with a clean towel. Ingredients like peels and skins might need an extra rinse, especially if it involves layers where dirt might be hidden (think onions).
Next, set aside a separate bowl while you’re cooking to collect scraps. We also have a smaller bowl set aside for composting anything we won’t be using in the broth. It makes clean-up much easier, and you’ll be more likely to remember not to throw the scraps away if you have a bowl set out.
Step 2: store your leftover scraps in the fridge or freezer
Once you’re finished cooking, it’s time to store your leftover scraps. If you think you’ll have enough scraps to make broth in a few (1-2) days’ time, they can go in the refrigerator. If you’ll be waiting longer, make sure to freeze the scraps so they don’t go bad. Onions and garlic don’t do well in the refrigerator – it’s best to freeze those scraps immediately.
Either way, we’ve been using our FoodSaver HandHeld Vacuum Sealer to best preserve the freshness of the vegetable scraps! It's incredibly easy to use, affordable, and small, it's perfect for every kitchen. Essentially, we sort the vegetables based on type (this makes it easier to measure quantities for the broth later on). Then, we add them to a FoodSaver bag, grab the vacuum sealer and let it do its thing.