Many shop-bought vegetable stock cubes are highly processed and often contain a lot of salt, which can be a significant part of the cube’s weight. The flavour comes from flavourings, yeast extract, and dehydrated vegetable powders, not from a long simmer of fresh vegetables. They may also contain thickeners, starches like maltodextrin, and fats such as palm oil. While these cubes add an impressive dose of flavour, homemade stock is simply made by simmering fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices in water.
Making your own stock that is low in sodium, free of additives, and rich in the genuine, complex flavours of real vegetables will transform your home cooking – whether it’s a soup, pie or ramen. Culinary experts at Serious Eats point out that if you have the time to gather ingredients like dried mushrooms and kombu, “you can make a really great vegetable stock which will add a lot more depth and flavour to whatever you’re cooking”.
If you’re short on time, they mention that there’s no need to worry “because an easy and perfectly good vegetable stock is just minutes away.”
The recipe for homemade veggie stock is simple and flexible; you’ll need some aromatic vegetables and water. The exact vegetables you use are open to interpretation, but a good starter base should include carrots, onions, and garlic.
As for the quantities, there’s no need to measure the water or veggies eaxtly, just make sure there’s enough water to cover the chopped items.
Celery helps, as do fresh herbs, like parsley and thyme, and dried ones, like a bay leaf. Anything else that doesn’t have too particular a flavour will also work. Fennel and leeks are worthwhile additions if you have the plus vegetable scraps.
However, Daniel Gritzer of Serious Eats advises against sulfurous brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts).
Simple stock recipe
Ingredients
- Four medium carrots, peeled and roughly diced
- Four stalks of celery, roughly diced
- Two large onions, roughly diced
- Four medium cloves of garlic, smashed
- Sprigs of fresh parsley, thyme, and/or a dried bay leaf
To make 16 servings of stock, fill a large pot with four quarts of water (3.8 litres) and add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and herbs.
Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce it to a simmer and cook for at least 20 minutes.
If you have time, you can cook the stock for up to 40 minutes. Before using the stock, strain it to remove the whole vegetables and retain the liquid.
A Serious Eats fan who tried the recipe said, “I did carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, and salt! I didn’t have enough onions, but it smells great. I’m going to be using it for a butternut squash soup.”
Another recipe fan suggested roasting the vegetables first for about an hour at 400F (204C) with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then, add them to a pot of hot water and spices for 30 minutes.
A third said the recipe “worked fantastically” and was “infintely better than the store-bought stuff”, using whole mushrooms, carrots and onions, plus garlic and parsley.