Vegetable stock

Out of pure convenience, I've always used pre-made, pre-packaged stock from the supermarket to boost the flavour of my soups and risottos. Without giving much thought to its actual contents, it always seemed to be so easy to empty the liquid stock straight into the pot. But as I've continued to educate myself about packaged foods, I've learned that those cardboard cartons are more often than not, full of excessive amounts of sugar and salt.

Reluctant to boil up a pot of perfectly good vegetables for the sake of producing my own homemade stock, I've gradually been building up a stockpile of waste from the veges I've been preparing for dinner over the past few weeks. Instead of tossing them in the rubbish or turning them into compost, I've been saving carrot tops and tails, wilted parsley and silverbeet, capsicum cores, snowpea tips, eggplant that's a-bit-too-soft-but-not-yet-mouldy, vegetable peel, onion and garlic skins in a designated container in my freezer. I even decided to throw in the unused, icicle-covered bags of frozen veges that have been buried in the bottom of my freezer since last year. 

Yesterday, the container reached full capacity, so I decided it was time to turn it into my own fresh and healthy homemade stock.

Homemade Vegetable Stock

It's as simple as throwing your collection of vegetable waste into a large pot, covering it with water and bringing to boil, before simmering for a further 45 minutes.

Season with cracked pepper and a pinch of salt.

Pour the liquid from the pot through a fine mesh strainer, reserving the liquid.

Once the liquid has cooled, divide it into smaller containers (I used 700ml size containers) and stack them in the freezer.

Now you can throw out the mushy, boiled vegetable waste. Its job is done.

Delicious homemade vegetable stock, sugar, preservative and salt free. Your soup and your body won't regret it.