Homemade Chicken Broth

[meo92953]

Being raised mainly in the country, in Minnesota, we always had a garden and chickens for eggs and eating.

There were many times we were stuck in the house or our area because the snowplow had to come through and dig us out. It was just a way of life.

You learned to use what you had and can a lot of things. Making stock was included and used up the odds and ends of vegetables and all the bones.

There were nine kids so my mother had to be pretty inventive.

Good memories.

[ChessieMom]

Originally Posted by Nanny Goat

Growing up, everyone made their own, too. I don't think there were chicken broths in a container you could buy. I do remember the little squares you added water to, salty stuff.
We use low na broth now, but the old fashioned stocks are probably better than anything.

Bouillon cubes. Still sold. Still used by many.

https://www.target.com/p/wylers-inst...z/-/A-13625111



I actually made something not too long ago that called for them, but I much prefer Better Than Bouillon. I use this stuff in so many different things - always in my chicken/rice soup, pot pie, those types of things. But in veggies too. Adds tons of great flavor.


https://www.target.com/p/better-than...z/-/A-13097138

[meo92953]

This is one of the reasons I treasure cd. I have never heard of better than bouillon but am certainly going to try it. Thanks for the info.

[Gerania]

Originally Posted by Nanny Goat

Growing up, everyone made their own, too. I don't think there were chicken broths in a container you could buy. I do remember the little squares you added water to, salty stuff.
We use low na broth now, but the old fashioned stocks are probably better than anything.

I think that Campbell's had condensed chicken broth way back when.

[ersatz]

OK I know I am bumping a several year old thread but I want to add My Two Cents.

I have been trying to cut down on food waste. I saved my chicken bones for several years in order to make stock but I have learned to save my vegetable peelings too - the onion and garlic paper peels, root ends, veggie peelings, etc. and throw them into a ziplock freezer bag instead of my compost bucket.

Now that I have an Instapot (LOVE that thing) once I have sufficient freezer bags of bones and veggie scraps to fill an Instapot at least halfway, I top it all with water, add herbs and spices, and put the Instapot on the Soup Settings for a few hours. I may add meat bones obtained from my local supermarket (roast them first) or even seafood scraps such as fish heads and crab/shrimp shells.

I used to buy stock (chicken, beef, veggie, seafood) in the supermarket. In the past two years I have watched the quart-sized stock pack prices creep from 99 cents, to $1.99, $2.99, $3.99 and, last week, $4.99. I have run the numbers and I think I am only saving about 20 cents or so a quart by making my own but the taste is orders of magnitude better than store-bought, and I know everything that is in my stock - no weird chemicals or fillers.

The coolest thing that I have learned about stock is that I can reclaim mummified refrigerator leftovers (as long as they are free of mold or contaminants), by simmering them back to tenderness in my home-made stock. I puree the results with a blender or food processor and then add water (if needed) and add other stuff such as pasta or veggies in order to make a great soup.