XXL Silicone Bags, Set of 2
102oz each and see-through, so you can portion a whole week and still find it.
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Vegetable Scrap Stock
This is the cheapest stock you will ever make, because the ingredients are things you were about to throw away. Keep a big bag in the freezer and drop in onion ends, carrot peels, celery tops and herb stems as you cook. When the bag is full, tip the lot into a pot with water and simmer for an hour. A clear bag earns its place here: you can see what you have collected and whether it is ready, without opening the freezer and digging.
Ingredients
- 8 cups frozen vegetable scraps (about one full XXL bag)
- 12 cups cold water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 4 sprigs fresh parsley or parsley stems
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, optional
Directions
- Collect scraps as you cook. Keep a clear XXL silicone bag flat in the freezer and add onion ends, carrot peels, celery tops, leek greens, mushroom stems and herb stems. Press the air out each time and lay it flat again.
- When the bag is full, tip the frozen scraps straight into a large stockpot. There is no need to thaw them first.
- For a deeper, browner stock, add the olive oil and cook the scraps over medium-high for 5 minutes until the edges catch a little color. Skip this for a lighter, cleaner stock.
- Add the cold water, bay leaves, peppercorns, parsley and salt. Cold water draws more flavor out than hot.
- Bring to a bare simmer, never a rolling boil, and hold it there uncovered for 1 hour. Skim off any foam in the first ten minutes.
- Strain through a fine sieve and press gently on the solids. Cool completely, then freeze flat in portions or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Tips and variations
- Save these: onion and shallot ends, carrot and parsnip peels, celery tops, leek greens, mushroom stems, herb stems, corn cobs, fennel fronds, garlic skins.
- Leave these out: brassicas like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage turn sulphurous; beets dye everything pink; potato peels make it cloudy and starchy.
- Never boil hard. A rolling boil pushes bitterness out of the vegetables and turns the stock murky.
- Freeze the finished stock flat in a bag and it stacks like a book, then thaws in minutes for the next soup.
- A clear bag matters more than it sounds. Scraps go in over several weeks, so being able to see the level and the contents is the difference between using it and forgetting it.
The bag this recipe is built around
The XXL Clear bag holds 102 ounces and stands up on its own, so scraps go straight in and it lies flat in the freezer between top-ups. Being able to see what is inside is the whole point when you are filling it over three weeks. Comes as a set of two, so one collects while the other holds the finished stock.
See the Clear XXL Bags
Common questions
- Which vegetable scraps should I not use for stock
- Avoid broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, which turn the stock sulphurous, beets, which dye it pink, and potato peels, which make it cloudy and starchy. Everything else in the crisper drawer is fair game.
- How long can I keep scraps in the freezer before making stock
- Up to three months in a sealed bag. Write the start date on the bag so you know when to use it, and keep it flat so it stacks rather than rolling to the back.
- Do I need to thaw the scraps first
- No. Tip them into the pot frozen and add cold water. They thaw as the pot comes up to temperature and lose nothing in flavor.
- Why should stock simmer instead of boil
- A hard boil emulsifies fat and pushes bitter compounds out of the vegetables, leaving the stock cloudy and sharp. A bare simmer for an hour gives a clear, sweet stock.
More soup recipes
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Copy this one onto a 4x6 card. Title across the top, the seven ingredients down the left, the six steps down the right, and Makes 3 quarts, Cook 1 hr along the header. File it behind the Soups divider. Built to outlast the screenshot.
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