Bone broth is making a resurgence as more people embrace, Paleo, Primal, and GAPS diets. But you don't have to be on a healing diet to take advantage of the nutritional and economic benefits of bone broth.
Your grandmother was right when she prescribed a steaming bowl of chicken soup to cure your ills.
Click Read More to see the complete post.
Bone broth contains important amino acids, minerals, and gelatin that support digestive and skin health. And it is almost free when you use bones and vegetable scraps that would otherwise end up in the trash or compost bin.
The importance of using quality ingredients cannot be over emphasized. Use only organic vegetables and bones from pastured or organically raised stock.
Conventionally grown produce and bones from factory farmed meat may contain herbicides, pesticides, hormones, and residual antibiotics which would inhibit the health enhancing properties of the broth.
Organic food is expensive. To maximize the nutritional value of your organic food, use the vegetable scraps and bones to make broth. Just add filtered water, apple cider vinegar, and a few spices and simmer for up to 24 hours.
The acid in apple cider vinegar aids in the release of minerals from the bones producing a broth rich with calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium. Broth can be sipped as is or added to soups or gravy to create a rich and substantial base.
For those really adventurous health enthusiasts or those who raise their own meat birds, chicken feet can be added to the simmering pot as well.
In many cultures chicken feet are highly valued for the collagen, calcium, and protein they contain. They are a great source of glucosamine and chondroitin in a highly digestible form.
Collagen promotes healthy skin, strengthens blood vessels, and helps joints move easier, which minimizes joint pain and slows the effects of arthritis.
Simmering bone broth takes time, but the process is fairly simple. I like to make it on a stay-at-home winter weekend.
Save your bones (chicken, turkey, beef, pork), tender onion skins, celery ends and leaves, and carrot peels in the freezer until you get enough to fill a stock pan 1/2 to 3/4 full (about 3 lbs of bones and vegetables.)
Add any optional items you have on hand from the list below.
Pour in filtered water until the pot is about 3/4 full (3 to 4 quarts) and all the bones and vegetables are covered.
Add about 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. If time allows, let the pot sit unheated for an hour or so to allow the vinegar to start extracting the minerals.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow the pot to simmer for up to 24 hours adding more water as needed.
Add parsley or any other herb of your choice during the last hour or so.
Drain the broth through a strainer and discard the solids. Broth can be used immediately, stored in the fridge for a few days, or frozen for future use.
A broth rich in nutrients will solidify and have a gelatinous texture when cooled in the refridgerator. Using soup bones with marrow or chicken feet will increase the amount of gelatin in the broth. The broth will liquify again when heated.
Don't be afraid to experiment with other ingredients as there are no hard and fast rules when making bone broth.
If you have eggs from pastured hens, adding an egg shell to the cooking broth will increase the calcium content of the finished broth.
Dried herbs are wonderful additions in terms of both flavor and nutrition. Try dried greens like lambsquarter, nettle, arugula, and mustard greens.
Culinary herbs like sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, oregano, basil, peppercorns, hot peppers, bay leaf, and french tarragon will add flavor.
Roots from herbs used primarily for medicinal purposes such as burdock, dandelion, and astragalus can also be used.
Fish sauce can be added for umami flavor.
Herbalist Rosalee de la Foret suggests this recipe for an immune boosting broth; You can find more details here.
Immune Boost Broth
Poultry or beef bones
1 TBS apple cider vinegar
1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 ribs of celery - chopped
1 handful each; dried burdock root, dried dandelion root
15 - 20 slices dried astragalus root
Handful of herbs such as rosemary, thyme or oregano (add in later)
Filtered water to cover
Bring to a boil, remove any foam that forms, add in the handful of herbs and simmer for 8 to 12 hours. Strain and compost solids, use immediately or freeze for future use.
Burdock and dandelion root are readily available in Minnesota.
Astragalus, native to China can be purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs. For Lyme's prevention, Stephen Harrod Burner, in his book; Healing Lyme recommends daily use of astragalus, for those who live in areas where the incidence of Lyme disease is high.
 |
| Vegetable scraps and bones fill the stock pot. |
Your grandmother was right when she prescribed a steaming bowl of chicken soup to cure your ills.
Click Read More to see the complete post.
Bone broth contains important amino acids, minerals, and gelatin that support digestive and skin health. And it is almost free when you use bones and vegetable scraps that would otherwise end up in the trash or compost bin.
The importance of using quality ingredients cannot be over emphasized. Use only organic vegetables and bones from pastured or organically raised stock.
Conventionally grown produce and bones from factory farmed meat may contain herbicides, pesticides, hormones, and residual antibiotics which would inhibit the health enhancing properties of the broth.
Organic food is expensive. To maximize the nutritional value of your organic food, use the vegetable scraps and bones to make broth. Just add filtered water, apple cider vinegar, and a few spices and simmer for up to 24 hours.
 |
| Chicken bones ready for simmering. |
The acid in apple cider vinegar aids in the release of minerals from the bones producing a broth rich with calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium. Broth can be sipped as is or added to soups or gravy to create a rich and substantial base.
For those really adventurous health enthusiasts or those who raise their own meat birds, chicken feet can be added to the simmering pot as well.
In many cultures chicken feet are highly valued for the collagen, calcium, and protein they contain. They are a great source of glucosamine and chondroitin in a highly digestible form.
 |
| Chicken feet and an egg shell add nutrition. |
Collagen promotes healthy skin, strengthens blood vessels, and helps joints move easier, which minimizes joint pain and slows the effects of arthritis.
Simmering bone broth takes time, but the process is fairly simple. I like to make it on a stay-at-home winter weekend.
Bone Broth Recipe
Save your bones (chicken, turkey, beef, pork), tender onion skins, celery ends and leaves, and carrot peels in the freezer until you get enough to fill a stock pan 1/2 to 3/4 full (about 3 lbs of bones and vegetables.)
Add any optional items you have on hand from the list below.
Pour in filtered water until the pot is about 3/4 full (3 to 4 quarts) and all the bones and vegetables are covered.
Add about 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. If time allows, let the pot sit unheated for an hour or so to allow the vinegar to start extracting the minerals.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow the pot to simmer for up to 24 hours adding more water as needed.
 |
| Rich broth is the result. |
Add parsley or any other herb of your choice during the last hour or so.
 |
| Oregano, parsley, and sage make the perfect seasoning for chicken soup stock. |
Drain the broth through a strainer and discard the solids. Broth can be used immediately, stored in the fridge for a few days, or frozen for future use.
 |
| The 28 year old strainer is still going strong! |
 |
| Discard the solids. |
 |
| Rich and nutritious broth! |
A broth rich in nutrients will solidify and have a gelatinous texture when cooled in the refridgerator. Using soup bones with marrow or chicken feet will increase the amount of gelatin in the broth. The broth will liquify again when heated.
 |
| Bone broth from the fridge, with the consistency of jello. |
Ideas for Additional Ingredients
Don't be afraid to experiment with other ingredients as there are no hard and fast rules when making bone broth.
If you have eggs from pastured hens, adding an egg shell to the cooking broth will increase the calcium content of the finished broth.
Dried herbs are wonderful additions in terms of both flavor and nutrition. Try dried greens like lambsquarter, nettle, arugula, and mustard greens.
Culinary herbs like sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, oregano, basil, peppercorns, hot peppers, bay leaf, and french tarragon will add flavor.
Roots from herbs used primarily for medicinal purposes such as burdock, dandelion, and astragalus can also be used.
Fish sauce can be added for umami flavor.
Herbalist Rosalee de la Foret suggests this recipe for an immune boosting broth; You can find more details here.
Immune Boost Broth
Poultry or beef bones
1 TBS apple cider vinegar
1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 ribs of celery - chopped
1 handful each; dried burdock root, dried dandelion root
15 - 20 slices dried astragalus root
Handful of herbs such as rosemary, thyme or oregano (add in later)
Filtered water to cover
Bring to a boil, remove any foam that forms, add in the handful of herbs and simmer for 8 to 12 hours. Strain and compost solids, use immediately or freeze for future use.
Burdock and dandelion root are readily available in Minnesota.
Astragalus, native to China can be purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs. For Lyme's prevention, Stephen Harrod Burner, in his book; Healing Lyme recommends daily use of astragalus, for those who live in areas where the incidence of Lyme disease is high.
Tips
- Whether you have city or well water, it is important to remove chlorine, fluoride, farm chemicals, bacteria, and pharmaceutical chemicals from the water you consume. I love my Big Berkey water filter.
- If you don't have vegetable scraps you can use whole onions, carrots and celery ribs.
- Broth can be frozen in ice cube trays for single serving portions.
- Use wide mouth glass canning jars filled 3/4 full when freezing if you want to avoid the use of plastic containers.
- If your freezer space is limited you can cook the broth down to condense it so it takes up less space. When you use it, just add water until it reaches the consistency you prefer.
- Consider making fish stock if you have the ingredients.
- Try this soup recipe.
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